A Paper Rose
by MattieTaylor
Summary: I didn't know what my brother did during the night. Until his responsibility was thrust upon me at the worst possible time, and with it, a whole new society that viewed me as their sheep.
1. Rules and Prologue

RULES

As written and directed by Gold and in no particular order, these are the rules that will govern your time at the Bloody sisters:

RULE One: Do not mix human and vampire blood together.

RULE Two: Do not physically fight another vampire.

RULE Three: Never leave Rose or Paper without Alpha and Beta.

RULE Four: Do not disagree with a vampire in certain circumstances.

RULE Five: Under no circumstance should you lose Alpha and Beta.

RULE Six: Do not divulge information about any of the Bloody sisters to anyone not part of the organisations. This includes people from sister organisations unless needed.

RULE Seven: Under certain circumstances do not divulge information to anyone but your team members unless needed.

RULE Eight: Do not physically touch your vampire in a romantic way.

RULE Nine: Do not fall in love with your vampire.

PROLOGUE

I met him when I was five years old.

Or so my brother tells me.

It was a vague memory for me and I can tell by his recollection that it was vague for him too, although he does retain some sort to jog my own memory.

It was at his birthday party set up at home and a bunch of his friends had arrived. He remembers there were many colours mainly from the decoration. But that was it. That was the blur of the whole day.

Only until the evening when two men came knocking on our door and got in. One, I remember, was tall, pale, with brown short hair and a dark suit, came right up to my brother, who smiled and waved, and patted him on the head before he knelt to his level and whispered something to him. He then sat in my father's chair. I was staring at him all this time. I had never seen a man so tall in my life so I presume at that age I would have been quite scared.

His gaze then turned to me and he smiled. It was one of those smiles that was contagious and I couldn't help it, I smiled back.

The other man, was younger, wore glasses and seemed out of place. He talked to our parents. My brother and I don't really remember their reaction, but my bet was that they both didn't approve in these strangers coming up unannounced. It was that, and many other things.

But I'm glad they did come. I'm glad they were allowed in. I'm glad I met them. And I'm glad that my brother decided on his future which is now my future.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

 _Shit! Shit, shit, shit!_

I couldn't help cursing as I ran home. It was the only thing I could do after realising it was the my turn to cook dinner. After having to deal with a tonne of paperwork for uni, sort out two essays with the same deadline ( _come on, who does that?),_ and do all that presentation before handing the piece in… I had lost track of time and before I knew it, it was six in the evening.

By the time I reached our place - a Victorian manor that looked like it came from a horror movie - at least it looked like that from the outside - it was dark and I struggled to get the door open. And damn, I can't even do the simplest of things today after realising that our door was always open. Don't ask me why I put the key in. Or why I even have the key.

When I burst through, I immediately went to the kitchen, shoving my bag on the table. There was no one around.

"Hey, I'm back!" I yelled, "Sorry I'm late."

"Welcome back, Alice."

I froze before turning around at where it came from. It was Mattie, one of guys I had met when I was younger. He is also the owner of this huge manor. As for the other guy… I don't know if I even met him again after that first encounter.

His brown hair was tossed like he had just got out of bed and his emerald eyes just pierced through anything he saw.

At least that's how I felt when he looks at me. All the time. He looked like he was in his mid thirties but in reality, he was much older. He wouldn't tell me his actual age. Like why?

He was walking towards me with just a bathrobe on and just stopped on the other side of the kitchen island.

Mattie's manor was just called 'The Manor' - there was no proper name for it. It was situated in a small town and surrounded by modem housing. If you looked at it from outside the gates, you wouldn't have thought anyone would have lived there. Some of the trees that lined the area had been dead for a while, and the grass hadn't be cut.

Contrary to its appearance, the interior was modern. I remembered when I first arrived here with my brother when I was fifteen, that for a man _as old as Mattie,_ he liked the modern taste of life. I suppose I had stereotyped him.

The kitchen was nearly all silver. It was small which was a surprise considering this is as manor, but I had never been in other manors to be able to compare. I just assumed that all the rooms would be large.

So here I am feeling ashamed when my more selfishness thought came to mind:

 _Oh… he had just… with Caim… who is most likely sleeping now._

And: _Damn, he's hot. If only I could see a bit more of him..._

"Caim ate already. We had to go out earlier." Mattie said.

Caim is my older brother, who's in a relationship with Mattie. Which is why I should _stop having these selfish thoughts._

Nothing came to mind as I just blinked at him him a few times so I just said "Eh…"

Leaning down on the island, he picked an apple from the fruit bowl and took a right chuck out of it.

"How was today then? Did you manage to get everything done?"

"Ah yeah…" I said sauntering off to the fridge to check if there was anything I could eat. I finally find a leftover sandwich and ate that.

"Somehow I got them all done."

"So you're pretty much free till the end of the term?"

"Pretty much." I shrugged.

"Hm." I looked at him trying to gauge why he was even thinking about that. He had folded his arms, the left over apple on the table. Was there something wrong with what I said? What _did_ I even say that was wrong?"

"Tomorrow we have to go out again. We might be late out so don't bother making dinner for us."

"Sure."

My brother and Mattie work during the night and with my uni work, I don't cross paths with them. I should know though. It's why Caim is sleeping now.

As he headed upstairs again, Mattie said he's going to go out for a while leaving me with my sandwich.

He does that to me. Makes me remember the questions I should really ask, but never get to. Part of the reason is that I doubt I'd get a straightforward answer.

 _What the fuck do you and Caim work as?_

"Mattie…" I started to turn toward him and before I knew it, Mattie stood next to me, a finger on my lips.

"Don't, Alice. If you do, I'd have to kill you." He whispered a teasing smile playing around his face.

 _What? Is he… he's not serious, right?_

I think my brain stopped working. I couldn't think of anything to say. For the first time I was pretty scared of Mattie. His gentle finger on my lip may as well have been something lethal and threatening. I know he's different to Caim and I, but I never really… thought he was capable of doing that. I keep thinking he was 'normal'.

"Hey, I'm joking, Alice! Calm down!" Patting my shoulder, he walked back to the island sighing. "But there will be a time when everything will be answered and when that time comes…" Mattie trailed off lost in thought.

All I could think of was " _what the heck is he thinking?"_

"Ah, I'm talking about nothing again. Forget what I said." He dismissed it with a wave of his hand as he walked back upstairs leaving me with a brain that didn't seem to work, and a half eaten sandwich.

We didn't always live here. Caim and I lived with our parents, Maggie and David Darling. I'm not sure what happened though. I had arrived home after walking from uni to arguing from the dining table.

" _You're making a decision that'll affect the rest of your life with so little information, Caim! Plus your father and I do not approve of this man you're with."_

 _I dropped my bag on the foot of the stairs once I got through the front door and tried to creep past the room._

" _Alice, do you know anything about this?"_

Damn.

" _About what?" I froze in the middle of the doorway._

 _Our kitchen was pretty small. My parents were sat around the table, different shades of concern pasted on their faces - my dad's probably bordering on anger. Caim was stood before them looking exasperated._

" _I have no idea what you are talking about." I said._

" _I told you she wouldn't know anything about it!" Caim yelled. "Why are you asking her that question?"_

" _Because you just said she is involved." Maggie said. "Caim, honey, you don't really have a leg to stand on. This Mattie you talk about… we only know him as your boyfriend and to say you decided to plan a future together at_ seventeen, _without your father and I knowing where you are and what you're doing…_ for the rest of your life _is downright disrespectful!"_

 _The sound of silence dwelled upon the room. I didn't want to move. I felt that if I swallowed this huge lump that developed in my throat because of my nervous, meant I got jabbed with another question._

 _It was my dad who broke the silence. "There is always the option of leaving this house."_

What. The. Fuck. What the fuck is happening here?

 _Maggie turn towards him her face livid. "Are you crazy? I'm not letting Caim out of this house without any means of survival!"_

" _You know what…" I said nervously. "If you don't know what's happening then maybe you should ask Mattie." From the course of the conversation I've heard, the man who plays such such a large role in Caim's life has the answers to all of our problems._

" _He won't say anything about it until I've signed up." Caim said. He wouldn't look at me._

" _Caim…" Maggie started to say something before she was interrupted by David:_

" _Then leave. Your mother and I share the same idea, Caim."_

" _I absolutely do not! David, why did you say-"_

" _I'm leaving then." Caim said. It was like he had no emotion. "Alice, come on." As he walked toward me, he took my arm and started to guide me out of the house._

 _A million thoughts ran through my head. "Where are you taking me? What were you talking about? Why are you dragging me in this?" I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp but it was too tight. "Caim," I said in a louder voice. I needed to get to that part of his brain that wasn't shut off from everything. He had dragged me out on the front garden. "Caim, let go of me!"_

 _That was when he stopped to look at me, a somber look his eyes. He looked like someone older than seventeen. He took my shoulders and looked at me in the eye._

" _I'm not going to let you go, Alice. Right now you are all the family I have."_

Shortly after that we arrived at this manor, welcomed by a Mattie who didn't ask any questions. He hasn't even asked those questions relating to that day to date. We've stayed there for four years now and since then we haven't seen our parents.

After that encounter with Mattie in the kitchen I headed up to bed. But that night, I wasn't sure of the time exactly, I woke up to something loud which left me staring wide eyed at the ceiling wondering momentarily where I was.

It was like fireworks so I didn't think too much about it, but after a few moments I rolled out of bed when they just seemed to get louder and more frequent. At this rate I know from the hours I spent watching crime shows, that they were gunshots.

Alarmed, I crawled over to the door slowly turning the handle to see what was going on. I hadn't even opened it an inch when it shut on me like the wind grabbed and pulled it shut. I heard Mattie shouting.

"Stay there, Alice and don't open that door no matter what happens!"

Just then a huge bang ripped through the air and pieces of the door and the dust rained all over me leaving a hole right in the middle. If my adrenaline hadn't kicked in I would probably be standing there a while longer. Running to the corner was all I could do, right next to the wardrobe and stayed in a foetal position.

 _If I had stood up I would have died._

I felt hot, a sweat soaking into my pajamas and confused.

Everytime I blinked I remember the scene in the hallway from the top of the stairs. There was a layer of dust where chips of wood from the railing had been blasted off with the shots. It covered the air and floor. What little was left hanging. Holes marked the walls and I could see Mattie, with a gun in hand, shooting away from me at the foot of the stairs toward the door.

 _Dear God, where the fuck is Caim?_

The thought flashed through my mind. They're together, right? Mattie will protect my brother, right?

These thoughts mixed in with every single question left unanswered, along with my surroundings was not a good potion.

Two more shots hit the air and I covered my ears. Tears streamed my eyes. I had never been so scared in my life. Where was Caim? Caim would help me. Heck, is Mattie friendly toward me carrying that gun? He was pointing out the door… but he said he would kill me if I asked questions... Caim has known him for longer, surely his judgement is wrong?

 _Shit, shit, shit._

The shootings lasted for a while as I stayed where I was. I don't know how long had passed before they stopped. Silence hit the air for a good few moments.

I felt I should crawl out but I didn't.

"Alice?" A voice. It was followed by a creak of a door. "Hey, are you alright?" It was a calm voice - Mattie's voice.

I couldn't move. I tried to move my hands away from my ears but they just wouldn't move. Finding that out, I started panicking. My breath as hot, I could feel it on my cheeks.

"Calm down, honey." His voice was near me. He had probably knelt down. "Breathe slowly."

I felt something on my wrist. It was cool but against my heated skin, it felt alien. I screamed.

"Don't fucking touch me!"

It was then I could move, backing up to the corner as far as I could away from him. It was dark in my room but with the little light that came from the landing, I could see him covered in blood, a large smear covered his cheeks and across his mouth. His white shirt was ripped but the sleeves still retained their rolled up length on his arms. The shirt was just dyed in red. It matched his eyes that were otherwise a beautiful emerald colour. But it was a strange sensation to see that those blood red eyes held some sort of kindness and concern.

He had his arm stretched out as if he was going to touch me again but when he noticed me looking at that hand, he dropped it on his side.

"Alice, it's okay. Everything is fine now but you have to listen to me." He spoke with authority, slower than usual and exaggerated each word without accent. "I need you to grab your 'go bag'."

After a few weeks staying with Mattie, he had asked Caim and I to get a bag that contained all the necessities so that if needed, we can just grab it and go. At the time I didn't understand why we even needed one but after tonight I realised that if we wanted to stay with Mattie, we'd have to take on the danger that it brings. I always thought that danger was because of what Mattie was but after seeing what happened just now...

I nodded and I crawled out to the bed. It was a medium sized bag and every month I would look in it to check if there was anything I had missed. It included an empty water bottle, toiletries, some packet food you needed to add water to, some basic clothes, money and my spare phone.

With shaking hands I took the bottle out and after finding out out couldn't really walk without almost tripping over, leaned against the bed over to my bathroom. From the corner of my eye Mattie's eyes never left me.

After filling the bottle I washed my face of the tears I could taste.

"Alice?" Mattie's voice was gentle but with the same authority and he came up to steady me from behind. I didn't want to smell the blood on him so I tried to push him away but he just stood there. "There's also something you need to know. Could you please sit on the bed?"

In the mirror above the sink he was looking at me. I turned to him trying to see what he could say about what happened. But something clicked.

"Mattie, where's Caim?" It took me a few tries to find my voice and even then it was pretty quiet but I'm sure he heard me.

He took a deep breath. "It's what I need to tell you. Please," He gestured to the bed, "sit down."

 _No. No. No. No! Something happened. Something bad._

Tears pricked my eyes again.

 _If anything happened to Caim, what do I do?_

My legs felt like lead as I walked the short distance and planted myself on the bed. Mattie followed, took the bottle out of my hands and placed it next to him on the floor. He knelt before me taking moth of my hands in his.

"Alice," he said. "Honey, Caim is dead."


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

I'm not sure what happened after I heard Caim had died. All I remember was that Mattie moved us to a nearby hotel with only my 'go bag'. All I did was sit on the bed until the date of my brother's funeral. I didn't know when that was though, the days and nights blended together. Sometimes Mattie gave me food and fed me even though I wasn't hungry.

It was here in this whitewash of of a hotel bedroom that there was a knock on the door and Mattie poked his head through.

"Alice? There's someone who would like to meet you."

I looked at him. He seemed to have interpreted my movement as an invitation, opening the door wider.

It was another policeman. They had came up to me asking many questions like 'what happened' and, 'do you know who might have done this?' I wasn't too sure what I should even say.

This man was dressed in the regular gear - the black hat with the check chess design, the body armour, cameras and the fluorescent green markings...

I took a deep breath not knowing how my voice would sound after being silent for so long. "I don't want to talk to another policeman." It sounded weird. Was that my voice? It sounded croaky, alien, as if I was a doll and someone else was moving my mouth as they provided the voice I didn't recognise.

"I know, honey. But this man would like to hear it from you directly."

I decided to whisper the words. "I've already sent you a description of what happened."

These policemen were not investigating what happened to my brother. Rather, they were looking into the shots that were fired the night I saw Mattie with the gun. This was an insult.

Suddenly anger filled me up. The words exploded out of me. "Why don't you investigate what happened to my brother!" I stood up with my hands in fists. Why won't they understand that Caim had died and I didn't know why or even who killed him?

"Alice-" Mattie started to say before he was interrupted by the policeman.

"Miss Darling," he took off his hat as a mark of respect and held it in front in both hands. This man looked like he was in his early thirties. He had brown eyes which matched his hair. But there was one thing that captured my attention: his eyes seemed to have seen a lot more of the world. At least that was my interpretation.

"My name is Iain Wright with the Metropolitan Police. First and foremost let me tell you how sorry I am for your loss." He paused to see how reacted. I didn't budge an inch. I wanted this man to leave.

"Would you like to sit on the bed?"

This sounded odd. Sensing my hesitation, Mattie came round and took my shoulders gently pushing down on them.

"Alice," he whispered in my ear in the most gentle of sounds I've heard for quite some time. "It's very important you should convey what you saw that night to this man."

I looked straight into those emerald eyes and and my breath caught. They looked exactly like Caim's the night when we had left our family home all those years ago. My heart ached for him and I burst out crying. Mattie's arms enclosed around me holding me ever so tight.

 _It hurts. It hurts so much._

My chest ached to the point where I thought it was being ripped apart. My brother protected me from the bullies when I was younger - he arrived home covered in mud after beating a guy up. He helped me with my studies when I was struggling. He did a lot of things and I admired him for all those things and more. I'll miss his smile when I came home with a top mark in an exam - he tackled me on the spot and spun me around, both of us laughing till the tears ran down over faces. I'll miss his voice, the sweetness but also the disappointment he faced when talking about his first girlfriend and how she broke up with him. Heck, I'll miss the way he would crack his knuckles when he accepted a challenge something that always brought a shiver down my spine. The determination of it was etched in his face.

All of this flashed in my mind as I struggled to breathe between sobs, coating Mattie's shirt in tears, the salt was the only thing I could smell. It made me drowsy and only then did my cries die down.

Pulling me away from his shoulder, Mattie's thumb wiped the left over tears on my face.

"Maybe you should sleep now. We can talk in the morning." He gestured Wright waiting awkwardly at the door. I forgot about him.

I shook my head turning to him. "I'm sorry. What would you like the know?"

Wright came in to sit on the bed with me. Taking out a small notebook, he said, "Miss Darling, could you tell me everything you know?"

I frowned before I looked at Mattie for clarification. Despite being interrogated so many times, I only answered one 'what happened' question and the answer I gave was quite vague. He nodded.

And so I told Wright what I had seen in detail, including the part about Mattie having a gun and shooting at someone outside. There wasn't much to recall and by the end of it I felt lighter.

"Will you be investigating what happened to Caim? I received no word on it." I still wanted to ask even if it was useless. I had asked the other policemen who all said they had not had any recent reports nor recall anyone who was missing or had been killed in the past with the name 'Caim Darling'. I didn't understand this.

"Of course, Miss Darling. It is still ongoing. We'll update you with any new information."

I stared at him completely aghast. Here I was asking the same men who all attended the same police station, who all said the same thing to me, but it was only this person who stood before me to say what I wanted to hear. It felt like a breath of fresh air. I looked at Mattie who was grinning. But wait-

"How come none of your colleagues say what you just said then?"

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you the answer to that."

I sighed. But it was better than nothing.

"Alright then! I'm sure you have a lot of work on your plate, Mr. Wright." Mattie said standing up and ushering Wright out. "With everything that's happened you'll understand Alice needs her rest now." I could hear them from the main room. I heard mumbles but not the words as I lay back on the bed, exhaustion creeping in so fast it claimed me.

In my black attire I looked different. I was only wearing a simple but formal dress with a thin brown belt around. As it was sleeveless, my arms caught the cold. It will be colder later on.

Caim's funeral was later today. There was that ache in my heart of his loss. It wasn't as bad as a couple days ago when I talked to Iain Wright but it was still there, it still ate at me from the inside out. I was surprised on how many tears I could shed.

So I stood in front of this hotel bedroom mirror, my eyes just a little puffy, the butterflies in my stomach flying around non stop. It was a day to say goodbye.

There was a knock on the door and Mattie's head poked round the corner.

"Are you all done? Do you need anything before we head off?"

Today he wore a crisp black suit with a white shirt. He had tried to tame his hair earlier but after no avail, resorted to gel so now it looks like his hair was plastered on his head.

I started to shake my head but thought better of it. "Could I have some hot chocolate? The way Caim did it?"

"Sure." He said before he left. Caim made the best hot chocolates. They even had marshmallows and sprinkles on special occasions so it was rare when I would find them in my mug. I would normally have them after trips or parties but since we had left the family home, all invitations to birthday parties, Christmas parties and family events just disappeared. We didn't get word through the door about them even though Caim had told them of our new address. I remember standing in front of the home on mum's birthday. There was a small gift in my hand - a bracelet with gems on it for wealth and luck for the future. I had planned to give it to her face-to-face but I didn't. It felt weird. Like they had cut us out of everything when Caim took the decision to leave. We did too… or at least Caim did. I just left the gift on the doorstep.

In the main room the smell was intriguing. It filled the space some much that it reminded me of happier days.

The room was larger than the bedroom if only slightly. I didn't really go through the door whilst we were here as Mattie kept checking on me. The kitchen was just a wall of cabinets with a cooker and a fridge. Tiles were plastered on the floor as if to give some sort of size of how the kitchen should be. Mattie was there with a pan.

As for the main room, there wasn't much to describe. A couple of chairs, a sofa, a table propping a TV up and some cabinets was all that was there apart from the pictures of random scenery on the walls.

I sat on one of the chairs and not long after, Mattie gave me my hot chocolate.

"I didn't make it too hot. Just hope it's worthy of Caim's!"

"It smells like Caim's." I said smiling at him. I hadn't smiled like that in a while. I took a sip and sighed. "Oh Mattie, it is. Thank you." Instantly I was calm. Those butterflies had died down.

He patted my shoulder as he settled down on the other chair.

"Hey, Mattie?"

"Alice?"

"Do you think my parents are going to be there?" He froze then ran both hands through his hair. Some of the strands fell out. "M-Mattie?"

"Alice. I know I haven't given you many answers over the years. Could you wait for a few more days before I'll be able to answer all of them to their fullest?"

I just looked at him with a 'what-the-fuck-does-that-even-mean' face. But he did look troubled so I waved it off.

When I finished, the mug was washed and dried and we left with my 'go bag'. Outside under a bright sky there were two funeral cars waiting for us. One carried the _coffin_ the windows absolutely clean, the shine on the car (I know nothing about cars), was immaculate as well as the bright flowers that decorated the… _coffin_ that surrounded my brother.

It felt heavy - c _offin -_ it felt heavy and empty and no one should have to utter the word.

We climbed into the other car, its beige padding made me slip and I had to hold onto Mattie which kind of embarrassed me. There was a lump in my throat through all of this.

"Alice, it's okay." Mattie whispered. The arm I had hold of made its way over my shoulders. I didn't know whether it was a comfort feature or he felt he could keep me steady better but whatever the reason, I felt safe here. I know Mattie had that gun that night and I should be scared of him but this man was the only thing that was stable in my life. Even if it only spanned from when Caim and I started living with him.

The drive was slow and some people who saw us stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads.

I knew this route. We were going to the church and this route meant we had to pass my parent's house. Will they be in? Will they see me in the car? Will they recognise Mattie?

Noticing my breathing rate increased and the handfuls of my dress bunched up in my hands, Mattie patted my shoulder.

"Breathe, Alice."

"But-"

Then the car stopped at a place near my parent's house - at the police station.

I stared between Mattie, who looked really bored (the nerve of some people), and the view outside showed someone was waiting for us. It was Iain Wright. He climbed into the seat next to us. I didn't know what to say but to just stare at him. It was hard for me to phrase the many questions I had.

"Good morning, Miss Darling, Mr Taylor."

"Good morning." Mattie nodded. I couldn't make my mouth form the words. "It's a shame we can't seem to meet on a positive note."

"Yes, a shame." Wright looked at me. "I know I've said this before Miss Darling, but I'm sorry about your loss." I blinked and nodded. After a few minutes the cars headed off again and they did pass my parent's house. All of the houses on our road had small gardens accompanied by a driveway. All of them looked the same with white windows panels, the odd porch on a couple houses - I don't remember anyone having a porch when I lived here - its light coloured bricks and dark panels forming the roof. It reminded me of the simpler days when I would run around the garden and get told off for bringing a toy out or when mum would chase me to put an ugly hat on. I felt content.

We arrived at the church and spent a while there, the priest detailing Caim's life. There was only three of us in the building. Caim had so many friends yet no one bothered to come? My parents weren't even there too! But I tried to put those thoughts to the back of my mind. I'm not sure how Mattie will answer every question I have but at least I have would have an answer to a question that has remained unanswered for a long time.

Afterwards the cars headed up to the graveyard. Flowers were thrown into the hole Caim would be buried. I felt that if I threw my flower, I'd be saying goodbye indefinitely but Wright assured me that they would be alive as long we remember them. It took me by surprise when he said that but then he said in the police force, he had seen a number of his men die and he had the job no one else wanted - to break the news to the family. Although he had seen death, he was still here by my side next to Caim's grave.

"Mr Wright?"

"Iain. Call me Iain."

" _Iain,_ what brought you here?" I paused, "I mean what are you to my brother to be here?"

A silence descended upon us. Maybe he was trying to figure out what to say.

"I've been Caim's friend since I met him when he was younger and since then he's been like the brother I never had. Caim was very supportive when I had my dark days, and to know that there was someone who was there all the time was a relief. I only hope that he thought the same way for me but I suppose I won't ever know."

I shook my head. "He did because you're here now and that there was time to pick you up at the station. I mean look," I gestured at our surroundings. "There are only three of us here."

Iain smiled. "Thank you."

I was not sad anymore and it was encouraged further by the Chinese meal we had where we shared our memories. Chinese was his favourite.

I didn't know what time it was when we left and went our separate ways. Mattie and I said goodbye to Iain who said he would be in contact if anything changes regarding Caim's case. I wanted to say that I walked right back to the hotel but I was so tired Mattie would have dragged me across the floor. Instead he carried me. It was very comforting and I fell into a deep sleep.

A few mornings later we were still staying at the hotel. I had asked Mattie how long we were going to be there but he kept dismissing it as usual. And everyday I kept track of the date of the only thing I could: the start of my uni term.

Iain hadn't gotten back yet. I didn't expect Caim's case to be solved anytime soon although there was a part of me that just wanted the closure sooner rather than later.

As for Mattie he still kept tabs on me, giving me food when I failed to turn up for lunch or dinner. Did he do this with Caim or is he just really concerned about my welfare? But then it caught myself. I'm not sure how many days are needed for that 'I'll-give-you-the-answers-to-all-your-questions' day but I know that Mattie wouldn't use that as an excuse. I'm not sure _how_ I know but I trust him. He just didn't seem to be the type of person who did something like that.

I was in the shower when I felt something behind me. It was Mattie. And damn, he was naked.

 _Oh my God. Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down..._

"Hi." The word came as a whisper. I had to force myself to stop ogling his body.

"Hi." _Mattie, stop making my brain turn to mush. It'll fall out and go down the drain the way this might go!_

It was when I noticed his eyes which took me by surprise. One, I should have seen it sooner and two, the possible reason he was right in front of me.

How can you forget the shade of deep red gazing down at you?

 _Shit! Shit! Shit!_

I'm scared. I've never seen his eyes like this. What happens when he is like this?

A brush of his fingertips on my cheek stopped me on my track to panicking. "Alice." He stepped forward into the direction of the water. It cascaded down his muscled shoulders, plastering his hair and just generally making him look hotter than before.

 _And alas, he was dating Caim._ That piece of doubt in me spoke. I beat her up because how many times will you have a scene like this?

"I'm not sure on how to say this to you since I'm used to being direct in things I need." Those damn eyes kept me fixed to the spot. My throat was dry and I tried to keep my breathing normal. "But I have tried with you and essentially this will be an experience you will need to know in the future." He paused, "do you know what I am?"

 _Oh God. He's making me say it! I keep forgetting he's not…_

"A vampire." Did I say it? Did my lips mime the words? Regardless Mattie exhaled like he was pretty nervous on what I thought of him were.

"You… want my blood." I coughed. My dry throat had given up on me so I cupped my hands together to gather the pouring water to drink.

"Yes."

Despite the water being warm I shivered.

"It won't be as bad as a you think." He continued. "You need to get used to my fangs first."

 _What the fuck does that mean?_

Ever so slightly he lifted my face.

 _Wait, wait is this what I think it is?_

His lips were on mine.

I think my brain died. I think it went down the drain and is halfway to the ocean.

When Mattie leaned back he had a weird expression then started laughing. "Alice! Are you alright? That wasn't the first time was it?"

 _Awkward…_ I did have one boyfriend but it lasted like seven months and we didn't kiss. More like hold hands and tease. I bet some people would say, "How can you have a boyfriend for seven months and _not_ kiss? Did you really love each other?"

"Oh." At least that laugh died down. "Well then…" He shuffled toward me. There was barely any room for me to escape now in this small cubicle. "Maybe I should show you how to kiss?"

 _Argh._ I wiggled my hips ever so slightly. Thank God for the water.

His mouth came down on mine at the same time his arms banded around my waist to hold me upright.

But then his mouth opened and his tongue encouraged mine mine to follow suit.

 _Is this even real?_

Those lips tugged at the corners of mine. "Alice… give me your tongue..."

I moaned inwardly and did what he asked. His tongue guided mine to where his fangs were. At first I thought they might cut me if I even touched them… at least with my fingers, but they were just... longer canines.

Mattie moaned just as I explored his mouth, then moved back to the corner of my mouth again so I could take a breath. I was gasping. I wasn't a stranger to these feelings but with this… it was different.

Leaving a trail of kisses along my neck, he found a place there where I felt something sharp. Those fangs pressed down on my skin lightly then he kissed it and he repeated the process until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Ah!" My head rolled back as the pain shot through my body and my hands gripped his shoulders and hair. It felt like he was constricting my breathing.

Behind me one hand rested on the small of my back keeping me steady, the other trailed lines up and down my spine in time with the mouthfuls of my blood he drank. So slowly…

And I grew tired. What was happening? Should I even feel tired? No, even I with my lack of knowledge, knew I shouldn't so when I couldn't keep my eyes open for much longer, I cried out, "Mattie!"


	4. Chapter 3

When I woke up it was dark but I could tell I was in bed. I still felt so tired I just wanted to stay here forever which wasn't a bad idea especially when these pillows supporting me and the thick blanket was so warm and inviting.

"Oh, you're awake?" Mattie's soft voice shot through the silence. I didn't realise that he was just next to the bed until he moved and suddenly the bright light of the desk lamp pierced the darkness. And my eyes.

I groaned burying under the blankets until my eyes got used to it.

"How are you feeling, Alice?" He patted the blanket.

"A bit mushy."

I think I heard him sigh. I think. "Mushy is good."

 _Wait, why am I supposed to feel mushy in the first place?_

My hand flew to my neck. I expected to find bandages there or at least something to say Mattie had bitten me but all I had was my own skin.

I guess he heard the clap of my hand against my neck because he said, "you shouldn't need anything for your bite marks, Alice."

My head popped out. "Why?"

"Because it's me." The corners of his mouth lifted up so I guessed he was smiling. Or grimacing. Why is he so hard to read now? Then he turned to look at the floor.

"Is something wrong?" I I realised I was being selfish all along. All this time I had Mattie to comfort me when I didn't even ask how he was holding up. I felt sick with myself.

"I'm sorry." _What?_ "I should have held back because it was your first time but… your blood…" He hesitated, shaking his head a few times. It looked like he was debating whether to tell me or not. "No…" He paused again. "Alice, your blood… tasted a lot like Caim's."

 _What._ "Is that good?"

He shuffled in his chair. "Somewhat."

"Oh…"

 _I still don't get it but it doesn't look like he would say anything else._

Looking a bit relieved with himself he said he was going to make me some hot chocolate but as he got out, my hand leaped up dragging the rest of my body to to a kneeling position just to grab his shirt. His face was frozen between shock and something else I couldn't put my finger on as he turned to stare at me.

 _What the fuck am I doing?_ I decided to chide myself because the present me just didn't do fuck all about being normal and keep these mixed up feelings away from Mattie. _You're looking really desperate, Alice! Just sit gently on the bed._

"I, uh, wanted to know if you were okay?" I muttered as I lowered myself into a sitting position. "You know with Caim's death and all…"

For a second I thought Mattie wouldn't defrost and that I'd have to do something about it. Like maybe pull those cheeks the way I did to Caim, but he started to blink rapidly as his brain commenced working again.

"Oh Alice. I'm fine. I do miss him." He frowned. "But don't be mad at me when I don't emit a level of sorrow or empathy with some situations." I held my breath as he leaned closer, his gaze unwavering. "I'm an old vampire so I've seen a lot of death but I did care for Caim…" As he leaned back he added, "you should get some rest. I have something to tell you in the morning."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"I'd rather tomorrow, Alice. Good night."

And with that he left.

Caim always told me that life was about one thing: the unknown. In this case the unknown of the future. He said even if you try to sculpt your own by ways of going to college and university, it still wasn't enough.

I never understood what he meant. You go to college and university to specialise in a subject and there's a high chance you'll end up in the same profession. But then you have the people who change careers. Is that what he meant?

But I'm sure what he wanted to talk to me about wasn't about university. It sounded it had a lot of weight. Maybe it defined my whole life.

So when I got ready for the morning that was the first thing I expected to come out of Mattie's mouth. Or at least one of a few.

He was seated on one of the chairs we had having pulled it over to the kitchen. There was a steaming cup of something that smelled absolutely disgusting and he was talking on the phone. When I walked out, he waved before saying that "I'll talk to you later." Why do people do that? So rude.

"Are you sure?" I said indicating to the phone. "Don't stop because I'm here."

"I'm sure." He hugged me a good morning. He smelt nice. Really nice. Like he had a shower this morning the smell was that fresh.

I went around to make some tea. But I couldn't help it, "Mattie, what did you want to talk about? The thing you couldn't say last night."

He shuffled in his seat. Took a huge mouthful of that drink. _Ugh._ Shuffled a bit more. "I was planning on introducing you to someone and getting round to answering all those questions you have." He paused to let all of this sink in. "But for me to continue I need you to have signed up to it first."

 _What._ "What does that mean?" I said slowly peering at him through narrowed eyes. _This shit coming out of the his mouth sounds damn iffy._

He looked up. My breath caught when those emerald eyes locked with mine. "It means I need you to know that the information I give you is confidential. Having you sign up with us prevents you sharing it freely." He frowned. "Let me rephrase that. You don't have a choice in this but we do need your permission to be with us."

"And what am I signing up to?" I asked defiantly. I refuse to be wavered with those eyes. "Who's _us_?"

"I can't tell you."

 _Are you kidding me?_ "You're saying you can't tell me anything unless I'm already signed up to God knows what? That's like committing to snowboarding without any knowledge!" Don't ask me why I picked snowboarding.

Mattie ran his hand through his hair. "I know. But know that Caim made the same decision. It's hard to explain to you right now but because Caim was your brother and he was with us, means you've been dragged into it." His eyes narrowed as if he didn't like the idea of my involvement.

I think I was insulted. Bringing up my brother now sounded like a ploy. _How dare he!_

"Don't ever bring in my brother when it fully involves me." I glared at him.

"But there's more. Should _you_ -" _Well fuck you too!_ "decide to sign up, you will no longer attend uni."

 _Shit._ "Why?"

"There is no need. Your decision will affect your life. You won't have any time for it." He sipped his mug innocently. Does he know how hard I've worked the past year? To be able to get where I am?

"There's no time limit of course but if you want the answers, the sooner the better. Plus the experience is something uni will not provide you."

I'm assuming this was different to the 'normal' track of life. The track of getting through uni, getting a job, marriage, children etc. The one where I'd see Mattie hold a gun more. There would be a possibility of me using a gun but the idea of that was just impossible. Would I see more vampires? _Shit. Shit. Shit…_

"I'll give you some time to think." He got up with that mug and phone. "I have to make a call. Bug me whenever." He waved behind him as he headed to the bedroom.

 _Damn, I'm so fucking mad at him._ It feels as if I was deceived.

I thought about making the tea later since I had to think about what he said. It might have just been my initial response and if I think about it as soon as I can, I'd feel a bit less confused. But I decided to boil the water anyway. Tea helped me relax which is something I needed right now.

I collapsed on the sofa in front of the TV, my tea on the table draping my arm over my eyes. Fuck, I felt so tired after that.

So I have to make a decision that'll affect my life with absolutely no information? What the fuck. But… _Caim did make that decision and since he's been with Mattie and I, he was happy. Much happier than when we lived back at our parents._ I sighed. _Fuck you Mattie for saying that… Is it true I don't have a say in this? But I am interested in the whole 'uni won't give you this experience' thing…_

Mattie still hadn't left the bedroom so I headed off to put my empty mug in the sink and knock on the door. My fist didn't even hit the door when it burst open which gave me a shock.

"Alice?" Mattie looked puzzled. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know you guys have my permission." _For God knows what._

He blinked. "Really? Then let's go!"

Forty minutes later we were in a silver Mercedes rental car heading to the motorway accompanied with my 'go bag' even though I hadn't needed to use it yet. As usual Mattie couldn't tell me where we were going (he was also driving), but he did mention that he had someone he wanted me to meet so I can only hope that was where we were going.

For a July morning it was obscenely hot. Not a cloud in the sky and for that we had the windows down. From what I knew of a vampire, my experience with him - and probably with some influence from movies - Mattie was sluggish in daylight so I was slightly scared of him driving. He was fine in daylight. But if someone was looking for a vampire they'd notice he was slightly paler than the palest person around. Notice he was covering his eyes with sunglasses (which is fine in this weather. The sunny morning was an advantage for him to blend in better with human society). They'd also notice his cool skin should they brush against him.

When I first started living with Mattie alongside Caim, I was a bit scared of people knowing he was a vampire but he told me he was known in the community having lived here so long. I didn't ask him the first thing that came to mind - what happens if someone realises he didn't age - but right now that wasn't a priority.

Being as nervous as I was with his driving I would offer to drive but trying to get the destination out of someone who thought I wasn't 'officially' signed up, even though I gave my permission, was like trying to talk to a brick wall.

But despite the secrecy throughout the few years I knew Mattie, there were some things I learnt like he preferred his blood _fresh._ Or his preference in waking early. God knows why he does. And… that was about it.

Nearing noon we pulled into an American diner on the motorway. I hadn't had anything to eat yet so thank God Mattie wasn't too excited to drive us the whole way.

This diner was just called 'Diner' (so imaginative) in bright pink. It had neon tubes outlining the name which made it seem like we were stepping straight into the fifties. It was placed right in the middle above a set of double doors. Windows ran the length of the building bordered by a grey paneling that looked a lot like they just decided to put them on last minute.

We sat in the corner on worn out leather seats built for two facing each other. The tables had that metal mesh you'd normally find in a mechanic's garage or something along those lines, which housed the menu, the salt and pepper pots, a bottle of malt vinegar and a tub of mustard.

There was a massive shiny counter with stools of the same style just before the doors of the kitchen. More neon lights hung with pictures of America's scenery and smiling people around a table with heaps of food.

One of the waitresses came over with a smile that could brighten anyone's day. "What will it be?"

"Am I too late for your waffles?" I asked. "And can I get some oj?"

She checked the time before taking out a pen and paper and scribbled down the order. "You're just in time." Addressing Mattie she asked the same question and to my surprise, he ordered some coffee. It sounds silly but I never saw him eat or drink anything but the blood so I assumed it was related to his being a vampire.

But then again it could just be for me.

I raised my eyebrow on him folding up the menu and placing it back. _How do I put this…_ "I thought you already drank."

He grinned. "Need a pick me up."

"Eh…"

When our food and drink arrived the first thing he did was grab a fork and took a wedge of my waffles stuffing the whole fork full in his mouth. "Hey!" I got a damn cheeky grin for an answer. I half expected syrup to start dribbling out then _I_ would be the one with the cheeky grin on my face.

But despite I was pretty mad at him earlier, I did like this playful side of him. Maybe it was one of the things that made me love him.

If only his mood didn't change so drastically.

"I thought you weren't hungry." I'm not sure why but I couldn't look at him while I asked that. It felt a bit awkward being in public even though with all the questions that were said so far, you wouldn't have thought Mattie was what he was.

"Hm." I saw him pick up his coffee cup, "I'm not sure on this but I think everyone can do it. The waffles here are pretty good."

Which meant… he thought all vampires could eat human food? Eh?

He leaned in closer to add, "you'll learn even more, Alice."

I hadn't realised I stopped breathing until that exhale when I saw him lean back.

I sighed. I was starting to get tired with all this bullshit.

We hit the road after paying. I wasn't sure where we were because I had never been this far away from home.

We entered the city heading straight to the centre and parked. Here everything was huge, old buildings were everywhere housing modern stores. One or two glass buildings could just be seen in the distance but was shielded with green shrubbery. It was pretty busy and Mattie didn't wait up while I gawked at the surroundings.

It wasn't long before I realised we were heading to a bank. It loomed in the distance. It looked like a museum. Stone pillars sprouted from the stairway and buried themselves into the decoration at the top - a swirling design, the one you would see in the Times newspaper. Only the glass doors told you it was a 'bank for the people'.

"We're going to the bank?" I said.

He didn't look at me when when he replied, "Yes but it's not the bank we want to be."

There wasn't that many people there. I followed Mattie across the room passing a small coffee table with a couple of chairs and the counters where the tellers would have been. I say that because there were two. One was seated behind a counter that looked like she was counting money. We sauntered to the other teller, a woman who looked like she was in her mid thirties with auburn hair tied in a bun. She wore glasses, a black suit, white blouse with a red tie. Her lips matched the tie. She was looking at the computer and glanced at Mattie with a frown, looked at me panting behind him then back to him.

Mattie grinned. "Good morning, Sophie. I'd love it if I can put some money in today."

Her frown deepened. "Of course, Mr Taylor, if you would follow me, this computer isn't set up to take transactions right now." Sophie looked at me.

 _What is happening?_

She got out of her cubicle and we went round a corner into a short hallway with smaller rooms on either side. All had a wooden door with a panel of glass so I could see what was inside. Each had a desk with a computer with two seats with either a potted plant in a corner or a picture of promotional sales.

We stopped at an lift with glass panels cut out just like the other doors and once she pressed for it she turned with her hands on her hips. It reminded me of a teacher with a bad student scenario. "You're late."

Mattie held out his hands in defence. "Not my fault."

Turning to me she said, "I hope he hasn't drove you crazy yet."

I didn't know what she meant. "Uh."

"Save it for later okay, Soph? She's not official yet." Mattie said, pressing for the down button. For some reason a little panel unlocked above the up and down buttons. Mattie had to punch in a huge code before it was green lighted and that electronic voice told us that the doors would be closing and to keep away from them. Sophie stayed with us until they closed.

"Alice, will you promise me something?"

"Sure."

"Do not come here on your own under any circumstance at least without my knowledge."

I looked at him. His face was just a statue looking straight at the doors as we descended.

"I promise, Mattie."

Just when I said that a bright light shone in. The view outside the lift shocked me. I just didn't know what to even think or what was even coming my way.

"Welcome to Bloody Rose, Alice."


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

I remember when the family went out of the country for the first time. We went to Spain and the view there knocked me off my feet. It was just like the pictures. I didn't expect that especially when they could have been digitally edited.

Spain was hot. There was no clouds to obstruct the view of a fantastic blue sky. The hotel was a lovely beige colour with those really thin curtains that poked out of the balcony. And the pool. Damn. It matched the sky. Colourful umbrellas and relaxing benches dotted around it. I just wanted to stay here. I'd never seen such beauty in my life. All I could do was stare at it and wish I'll be able to recollect it at a later stage.

Until Caim ruined it by nearly pushing me off the balcony into the pool.

I felt the same way when I saw the view out of the lift doors. It was like an underground world. The ceiling was the colour of the current day and provided the light. A huge garden stretched out, longer than what I could see with a path leading from our lift to two destinations. One was to a building that looked like it was for accommodation - it had several stories and a balcony with a glass wall. On some balconies clothes were drying on a line. Some had potted plants and they were so long they draped to the balcony below.

The next building was further in the distance. I wasn't sure how to describe it but imagine looked up at it from above and draw and line halfway through, draw a semicircle then another line, that was the design I saw. The semi circle being completely out of glass.

Flowers of all kinds provided the colour and the sweet aromas… I had no words to describe them.

I stood in shock at this underground world, my mouth gaping probably looking like a right idiot.

"Shall we?" Mattie said offering me his hand.

Then I had a moment. I felt that if I took his hand, will I be able to go back to a normal life? People don't live underground like this. The secrecy and pain Mattie had to go through to even say something was wrong. Absolutely wrong.

He saw my hesitation but kept waiting. Feeling awkward I took it. _I'd have to do that won't I? I won't be able to say things I feel is necessary to someone. Feel all the things Mattie did throughout the years especially in the few weeks that have got me here._

The path to that building in the distance was lined with tropical trees which was weird considering the surroundings but provided me a way in which I could calm down and not think too hard of what was to come.

When we approached closer I could see people - loads of people - inside. Some were just like Mattie with paler skin. I couldn't help but stare from one guy to compare with his skin just to make sure. At one point Mattie caught me eye and nodded.

Once we were inside a large and busy canteen area welcomed me. It dipped into the floor and was filled with round tables and chairs - filled even more with the amount of people and vampires that were there and they were all talking and laughing. The view of this place knocked me off my feet but this interaction with so many in one place was something else. Little food stalls had been erected on the left side of this dip, spreading the smell of their cooking.

On either side of me were several floors of doors, so many on both sides. They had a hallway with a look over this dip. The ceiling was made of glass.

"Mattie…" I whispered looking around trying to absorb every detail. I didn't know what to say.

"We're nearly there, Alice."

He lead me to the stairs. At the fourth floor we were out on the hallway with a view of the life below. We stopped somewhere in the middle. None of these room had numbers or anything to identify one from another.

"Here we are, Alice." He said gesturing for me to knock on a deep mahogany door. I didn't know what else to say or do so I knocked.

Inside a voice said we could come in and I opened the door. The person who stood before me in this mahogany washed small office with its bookcases running down the length of the walls, the furthest wall from me a window with its blinds drawn, and desk with a computer and keyboard that was centred in the middle of the room with two black sofas in that company-customer setting, stared right back at me with a welcoming smile.

"Iain!"


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

"Would you please sit down? I'm sure Mattie would have given many questions for me to answer." Iain said. He was behind the desk having stood up when we entered.

I felt Mattie's hand at the small of my back to push me in the room.

As the door closed, a red light was turned on. It ran along these four walls.

I took a deep breath and put on my professional face as I walked the short distance to the black sofa. Professional Alice isn't like normal Alice who had no answers for God knows how long. She took no bullshit fast talking.

"You're not with the Metropolitan Police, are you?" I asked I couldn't stop the sarcasm and confusion from entering my voice.

Iain shook his head. "Would you like me to talk about what this place is first or would you like to ask the questions?" Iain said. I hadn't realised Mattie sat on the other sofa.

 _Straight to the point. But…_

"Hold on. Mattie said this is really confidential and top secret so shouldn't you be sticking me with an NDA or something?"

Iain laughed a really hearty laugh. I was starting to like him. "It will come later."

"So the things you're going to tell me… I can just talk about them to other people?"

"If you mean people who aren't with Rose, no."

 _I don't get it. Anyway..._

"I'd rather you talk about it first." I kept my voice steady.

Iain clasped his hands in front of him.

"Right now you're in Bloody Rose. It's one of three organisations aimed at dealing with the interaction between vampires and humans. The other sister organisations are called Bloody Paper and Bloody Gold." Iain paused as if to give me time to digest this piece of information. "Each Bloody is aimed at different angles. Paper is aimed at research and development, Gold is…" He faltered "It's based on company management and as for Rose, we deal with community management."

Mattie laughed. "That's a strange way of putting it!"

For an answer he got the evil eyes from Iain. I didn't realise I was also giving him the evil eyes too until Iain cleared his throat to catch my attention.

"Where does Caim fit into this?" I asked.

"Caim was under my care." He frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. "He was part of the assassination division here at Rose… He was on a mission with Mattie…"

My head shot to the man next to me. He looked smaller bowled over with his head in his hands. "You were _there_?" I couldn't emphasis it anymore. My shock of this man being with my brother when he died nauseated me. Repulsed me. I think I might have flew halfway across the room away from this man but my legs failed me.

"I can't go into any detail in it, Alice but yes, Mattie was there… but don't hate him. He did what he could for Caim."

I didn't want to look at him. It was a good thing I was sitting down. I felt so damn tired and dizzy like I could sleep right here and right now for a month or so.

"Bloody has a policy that when you get accepted you inadvertently sign your siblings up. Which is why you're here and the majority of cases that you saw when you came in here today," Iain pointed to the door, "came here with a death in the family like you or they wanted to be here."

"Wait a minute." I sat up a look of disgust on my face. It sounded stupid but I needed confirmation because I thought I misheard. "You're telling me that half the humans there are those that want to be here and those that have no choice?"

He sighed whispering, "Yes. It's a complicated issue but it's to do with your blood. Mattie, do you want to explain?"

For the first time I heard him groan. He hadn't moved an inch.

So Iain continued looking awkward but keeping a close eye on Mattie's condition. "When a vampire takes blood the taste is dependent on in a number of factors such as blood type, relationship status… so say a vampire takes a stranger's blood it won't taste nice, in fact from all the talk that goes on around here regarding blood, the taste of a stranger's blood is similar to say… something you hate but you're really hungry so you have to eat it." He flinched. "It's a different story if you know the person in question - The blood becomes more palatable. If you love that person then… I suppose the thirst gets too much and the danger is heightened."

"Danger as in… being turned or dying?"

"Of death."

Silence hit the air. Nothing came to mind. All I could do was blink, breathe and make sure I didn't fall off the sofa. Iain, on the other hand, glanced a few times at Mattie who had finally moved. He laid back against the chair with his eyes closed and an arm draped over them.

Iain cleared his throat. "Do you know how a vampire changes someone?" To which I shook my head. "As everyone knows, it's to do with the exchange of blood. Right now if Mattie had given you any of his blood-" His eyes narrowed at Mattie who flinched like a kid you caught playing with a toy outside when you told him not to bring it out, "-you're one hundred percent human. However if he has given you his own blood you'll be how ever many percent human _and_ vampire. Society will consider you a vampire when you have fifty one percent vampire blood and over. Anything under and you're still human but you'll be described as having 'tainted' blood."

I swallowed as I stared at Mattie praying to God that flinch wasn't saying he gave me his blood without my knowledge.

He sighed. "I haven't done anything to her, Iain." He got a nod in response.

"Also at Rose, a human here is called a feeder." _What._ I guess my emotions were on my face because Iain sighed muttering, "Damn it's always hard to do this no matter how many I've explained to." In a louder voice he said, "Feeders are people like you Alice. They're predominantly human and allow their vampire-" he motioned at Mattie, "-to take their and only their blood. The majority of people here are feeders." He said that last part as if it was going to make me feel better.

"Is there anything else you would like to say?"

"Why do you recruit the siblings too?"

Iain looked awkward. "It's a bit easier for the vampire having to adjust dealing with the taste of blood."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. It felt like I need to lay down for a few days.

"If you have anything else, you can ask Mattie and I." He stood up and I followed him to the door.

"Hold on." I said, I pointed to the red light around the room. "What's that?"

"It's a security feature called Ted. All the offices at Rose have soundproof walls as well as other stuff." He gave me a face that said, 'please don't ask me why we call it Ted and I don't know what the other stuff is' face. "When Ted is in use everything in the room stays in the room. Its light is a visual reminder."

"Okay."

Mattie and I left Iain to head off to the other building where Iain had saved us a room. Mattie didn't talk that much while we walked there.

The ceiling lights casted an orange glow on everything it touched. I didn't realise how long I had been here. Nor did I realise there was a mimic of the wind as it tugged my hair and my clothes back.

"Mattie?" When he didn't reply I continued. "Thank you."

He froze. I had taken a few steps without knowing he wasn't beside me. "For what, Alice?"

Turning to see his face a mixture of shock, distress and confusion, I felt content saying it. If Alice before Caim's death thought she'd be saying the same thing, my bet would be that she needed more time. My bet would be she would still cry. But after seeing Mattie like that… I had never saw him like that - so tortured, it just didn't suit him.

 _He must have wanted to leave the room so badly._

"For doing what you could to save my brother."

Mattie's emerald eyes stared at mine. I think he was trying to read my face because after what felt like a few long minutes, he gave me a small grin before walking the short distance to bear hug me.

We didn't say anything. Didn't think any words were needed. I just stayed in Mattie's arms (because he hadn't released me), until I shivered and we continued our walk to this apartment.


	7. Chapter 6 part one

CHAPTER SIX PART ONE

Time is a healer. I've heard that phrase and understood what it meant. But after taking a few days off at the _penthouse_ (Penthouse! Out of all the rooms, Iain saved us the penthouse!), to mull things over, I still felt disconnected from everything. Or rather what I meant is that with time it'll seem less alien to me. How wrong I was.

So here I am at the main building with Mattie beside me and Iain before us in his office just like a mirror of a few days ago, explaining the next steps I had to take.

He was talking about a vampire teacher named Sarah would show me the basics of what an _advanced_ feeder should do and to develop these skills to adapt to real life.

There are two types of feeders. A normal one who, like Iain explained before, allowed a vampire to have their blood but they carried on with their usual lives such as going to university, or continuing to work, so there was minimal vampire interaction.

But an advanced feeder was more like a partner to their vampire. They'd take part in missions, handle guns etc. Overall the bond of a vampire and their feeder would become closer.

But being an advanced feeder has its dangers. No doubt about that.

 _Caim was an advanced feeder._

I knew it but having that thought to actually say it… it was weird and out of place like I didn't even know my brother and his relationship with the people who work here.

Iain talks about Caim positively but I couldn't help but think he meant here or above ground. He only emphasised my alienation.

Apart from that I had to start writing a will which would be updated every year with a first appointed to be announced in the short future. There was also setting up a regular time to donate blood. This blood would be sent to Rose's blood bank which was just under the bank we went through to get here. The blood would be kept safe and 'fresh' until there was a time when or if something happens to me. It's so Mattie could have a source of something while they look for a substitute… and I have to admit, Iain's reaction to this is like Mattie's. It was a matter of fact that people die in this profession and that people do get desensitised with death. It does make sense but it still seems weird to me as if they just dismissed a death like that.

I sighed. When those two were sorted out it's only then I'd be introduced to Sarah. The teachings will last about two years or so by which case I'd ask whether I wanted to be a feeder or be an advanced one.

"You sure you're okay, Alice?" Mattie said.

Snapped back to reality, I mentally shook myself. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're not scared of needles or anything like that?"

"I'm not. It's just…" I felt a bit awkward with Iain right in front of me, but he gave me the kindest smile there was. "You were right, Mattie. This is something uni couldn't give me."

He grinned. "Of course."

"Kind of hard to get my head around it and put it into words."

"Most people in your situation say that, it's very common." Iain said. "Mattie and I are here to answer anything."

I nodded.

The next day Mattie helped direct me to the people who would sort out my two new tasks. He said 'it's a good thing just to get it started rather than procrastinate'.

We entered a circular development section of Rose which was a small department considering Paper was the main researchers. Everything was white, glass and in some cases, colourful. Projectors hung from the ceiling camouflaged by the lights which hung in the same way and with the same colour too. There was an island in the middle with a sink and some glass vials. Surrounding it were four other islands packed with experiments with their scientists.

"Daniel!" Mattie called from the entrance. "Got someone for you to meet."

A blond guy turned from the middle island. He was washing his hands off something black. I could tell because his white overalls had varying shades of grey.

He was a thin man with pale skin. _Vampire,_ my mind whispered. I didn't know if it was rude to ask if someone is a vampire or not. I think it is… I'll have to ask Mattie later.

"Hello there." _Shit, he's really tall._ Daniel smiled making his blue eyes wrinkle at the corners as he took off his overall revealing a check shirt and jeans. He offered me his hand which I took to shake then he nodded a greeting at Mattie. But there was something wrong about his greeting...

 _Is it just me or every vampire hates Mattie. What the fuck?_

"Hello."

"Daniel, this is Alice. She'll be my new feeder from now on. We need you to set her up with a donor id."

"Sure, could you please follow me."

Directly opposite from where we were was a set of double white metal doors which lead to a short hallway. We turned left and headed into the third room on our right.

The room looked like a dentist's office. Cabinets lined the walls in that God awful green colour all except one wall - the one on our right which was covered with a glass cabinet half filled with red liquid I assumed was blood. The other half was just equipment. A seat was behind a small table in the far corner of the room for the 'dentist' and in the middle was a chair that looked like it was more marshmallow than somewhere you could sit.

Daniel gestured to the marshmallow chair. "Would you please?"

I peered at him. "Are you sure? I mean those experiments might need your presence." I nodded out the door.

"They're fine. My team takes over when I'm gone. Please?"

I sat on the chair leaving Mattie leaning against the door frame with his at arms crossed over his chest. _Bloody hell, it is like a marshmallow._ The padding was like sitting on a bouncy castle or an air bed. At one point I thought I was going to fall flat on my face. Or slide off the chair in an undignified manner.

"We just need a sample of your blood, Alice. And may I add that it's a pleasure to meet you."

I cringed inside but replied, "You too."

He went round to the other chair in the room and pulled out a drawer, taking out a syringe and a small plastic bottle with a screw top that looks exactly what you get when they want you to provide a urine sample. _What a lovely thought._ He donned a pair of gloves from a tissue box and took a wipe from another.

As Daniel said, the process was fast. I didn't fancy watching what happened as I was concentrating on Mattie's face, but felt a wipe on my arm followed by a prick. Just as I felt the prick though Mattie's eyes turned that blood red colour. The same colour that I saw when he took my blood… _in the shower…_ I moaned inwardly.

From the corner of my eye I saw Daniel get a wipe and was going to clean up when Mattie yelled, "Stop" and rushed to my side - the side that was pricked and just licked it. Licked. My. Arm.

"What the fuck!" I yelled tugging away from him at the same time Daniel shouted, "Jesus, Mattie!"

Mattie snached a bandage that was in Daniel's hand and stuck it over the prick.

"What the fuck was that for, Mattie?" I practically yelled at him because now I couldn't wipe his saliva off. But I also didn't want to touch it and have to reapply the bandage so I ended up flexing my fingers near it.

My head moved like a ball in a tennis court. I stared at Mattie then at Daniel, looking at him like I couldn't believe what the hell even happened. I just _couldn't._ I mean the tension in the shower was one thing I could handle but Mattie doing something in front of another person is a different thing entirely.

I just got a goofy grin from Mattie for a response.

And great, my arm tingles where he licked it providing me an ongoing reminder that Mattie's lick really did happen.

We left Daniel with his absolute ignorance of Mattie (apart from the let's-taste-Alice scene), to do whatever he needed to do with my blood and headed to another department.

 _There has to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for his damn lick. Like maybe there was still some blood left. Yeah, I think that was it._

Actually the _department_ was just a few rooms and Mattie introduced me to yet another vampire named Sandra who ran me through the deal with this will.

I probably should have gone to the legal thing first since my mind kept drifting, but oh well! The only things I needed to really know was that I was booked into see her every eleven o'clock every year to update the will on February the first.

"What next, Mattie?" We were sat in the dipped canteen area which happened to be called 'The Dip'. I was about to have lunch - a pasta salad with a drink. Not many people were here compared to the first time but it was still busy.

I was still looking at Mattie like he was going to pounce at me. I was keeping my distance from him but it's hard when you kind of like the guy and deep down because of that, you secretly loved him licking you.

 _Yeah, get a grip, Alice. What you're thinking is really wrong._ But then another part of my brain was whispering, _Ah, fucking hell._

"We could go back to Iain after your lunch. You need to meet Sarah and after that…" He shrugged, "it's up to you on when you want to start although I do hear the other teams need help on their cases…" Mattie trailed off when he saw my 'what-the-fuck-are-you-on-about-face' but being in playful mode always intrigued me. At least I think he was in playful mode...

After lunch since I was here already, I decided to pay Sarah a visit. She was a very pretty vampire. She wore a patterned dress that was more suited to special occasions. It was asymmetric with her long black hair cascading down her bare shoulder.

Mattie found her walking to the classroom having just got down the stairs and unlike the other vampires, she greeted, welcomed and hugged Mattie. She hugged me too and damn, she smelt like fresh strawberries. _I like her already._

"Hello Alice! I was looking for you now. It's a good thing Mattie saw me." She smiled showing off her teeth and those fangs. It did intimidate me a bit but I don't think Mattie would let her hurt me. "Are you planning to visit later?"

I couldn't say no. "Sure but I think with all this info I'm getting, I won't be that attentive."

"That's absolutely fine. It's mainly induction."

 _Induction?_ "I'm not the only person?"

She laughed, "Oh! I meant just introducing me! The introductions are so boring though. I never know what to say!"

 _Oh my God, screw the 'like', I love her already._

"You could do it now, Sarah." Mattie said.

"Well…" Sarah sat down quite elegantly on the seat opposite me. We all went to The Dip again. "Do you know what you'll be learning about?"

I thought about it. "Iain mentioned it but I can't really remember."

"I'll teach you mainly about vampire society and how it might affect the human society." _Oh goodie, history!_ "You'll learn everything you need to know about vampires as well as how to shoot them."

 _Did I just hear right?_ "Shoot?"

"Yes " She put her interlaced hands on the table, leaning ever so slightly. "You learn everything as if you were going to be an advanced feeder."

 _Shit, shit, shit..._

"Don't look so alarmed!" She patted my arm, the one that wasn't _licked._ I shot Mattie a look who just grinned like he had won the lottery. _Damn you!_

"It'll be fine!" Sarah said, clasping her manicured hands together. "Also, as your tutor you can ask me anything. You can ask Mattie too if you prefer. I'm sure in our lifetime, have heard absolutely everything!"

They both laughed which got me grinning. I'm not too sure what it is about this place but it feels weird. Feels… too uniform. Or too professional. Then again it could just be this scene that feels... plastic.

"I'm just going to head up to Iain. I forgot I had a question for him." I said standing up.

"Do you need me to come with?" Mattie said the effects of laughing not having worn off yet.

I shook my head. "I remember."

When I saw Iain there were actually two questions I had, one I had remembered when I reached the top of the stairs. I actually knew before the training what path of feeder I wanted to be. But I wondered whether it'll be alright.

My first question was 'if I'm going to be taught here can I please stay back home?' _Because despite being in the penthouse with its views of Rose, I think I need fresh air from above not from some ventilator. There was also the strange atmosphere here that I can't put my finger on._

The other was about Ted. Why was Ted used in the first place when you're dealing with vampires and you're in a super top secret organisation.

He replied 'it's fine' to the first and for the second, that vampires have good hearing. They can hear everything a human cannot. Their range too is something that can't be ignored. Having Ted there provided security from humans but also vampires. He also mentioned that if something happens like a mole or what, it narrows the pool of suspects and when working for an organisation just like Rose, it's your team against the whole building.


	8. Chapter 6 part two

CHAPTER SIX PART TWO

"Have you ever heard of the King family, Alice?"

I shook my head purely because I didn't know if Sarah was referring to a family in human society or a vampire one.

I was sat in the classroom with just a notebook and pen with Sarah sat cross legged on the table beside my small desk. It was my tenth or so lecture and I was on my own because there were no other people like me that was aiming to be a feeder.

In those sittings I was learning about vampire history and what vampire society struggled with and how they overcame it. They had recurring problems - I didn't doubt they would have no problems - mainly relating to vampires without a source of blood. Apparently despite the blood bank and a feeder's role, there was always going to be a problem with feeding.

"The King family were a pure blood family and are no longer with us."

"What do you mean?" The only way for a vampire to die was either by Rose's hand or by another vampire. The playing field evened out if you were a vampire fighting another vampire. They could inflict the same damage compared to a human on human fight in terms of... well... what they _were_. I learnt this the previous lesson. Was she trying to see if I could recall it?

"Well compared to humans, vampires live significantly longer, generally have better health and have an eye for detail. So knowing that, a daughter of the King family by the name of Amanda, went missing without a trace seventy three years ago. There were no witnesses. She was meant to head off to school one morning but never arrived there. I want you to gather what information is out there - factual information, and come up with some theories."

 _What._

"Have they found Amanda yet?" I asked. _Seventy three years ago is a long time to have a case open._

Sarah shook her head.

"Do you do this with the rest of the new recruits?" _If and when they have new recruits. God knows when that is._

"Sometimes we need a fresh eye on something."

As it turns out, there were several vampires that had gone missing. King was the more well known one because of their pure blood status. During my research which was mainly from gathering vampire newspaper clippings, word of mouth (mainly from Mattie and Iain) and Rose's archive, about a hundred had gone missing, all of them vampires from different families, from different walks of life and blood type. All disappeared without a trace and absolutely no witnesses were present. Out of all the information I gathered from the archive at Rose and from talking to the vampires that covered the area at the time, there was no new lead.

Not that I was trying to solve it.


	9. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

 _Two years later_

Sometimes I lay in bed thinking 'am I really twenty one? I don't feel it.' I certainly didn't feel it when Mattie burst into my room cake in hand at midnight to wish me a happy birthday. I was scared shitless having been sleeping. I feel glad I threw part of the cake back at that goofy look he wore. Damn playful Mattie. Damn him and damn my heart for liking it.

Actually I'm not sure why the thought even crossed my mind. It had been just over a week since my big day and just three days until this 'exam' I had to take as part my feeder training. I still knew the path I wanted to take. Whether I'd be good at that is another thing entirely.

Over the two years since I met Sarah, I learnt how to shoot a gun. Advanced feeders used two guns. One was a regular gun for humans, an Alpha, and the other was for vampires, a Beta. Beta wouldn't hurt a human and visa versa. But Beta will stun a human temporarily. They both looked alike so it was up to the user - me - to know which gun was which. As part of my training I was shooting full scale paper standees, moving to manikins before something similar to paintball the shit out of humans and vampires. The harder part was identifying who was an enemy, if they were a vampire or not and figure out which gun to use. It's probably why that cake hit its target.

As for society Sarah's teaching did answer what I felt… sort of - that weird atmosphere at Rose. She was saying because vampires had a long life they preferred the old days so were more professional. Mattie wasn't like that. She shrugged.

"Lucy, are you up yet?" Mattie's voice rang out from the doorway.

Lucy was my alternate identity I was given being a part of Rose's secret organisation. Lucy Henderson. Lucy is a nice name. Apparently it's policy that they give a new id to everyone at Rose. Apparently I didn't know Iain's real name since that was his 'new' identity.

"Yes, _David_."

We were back at The Manor. I was lying in bed for a few minutes before we headed off to Rose. It was just after eight at night. Over the years my sleeping schedule merged with Mattie's where I would sleep for the day and work nights with the occasional late days studying. We normally woke up at seven in the evening and stayed up till the work was done.

 _Mattie doesn't suit a David. He just looks like a… Mattie._

"Today's the day that fully determines your life if you want to be an advanced feeder, Alice." Sarah told me. We were in the classroom where I had started my studies.

"I trust Mattie hasn't told you anything about what's going to happen next?" Like the tutor she was, she raised an eyebrow at Mattie who was leaning against the back wall next to the door. He shrugged.

I felt a bit awkward and embarrassed knowing Mattie is in the room. It's almost like saying 'Mattie, I'd love to help you beat the bad guys'. I hadn't talked to him about whether I wanted to be advanced. Actually we haven't really spoken about it but since learning everything from Sarah and Mattie, both have been supportive in my choices. So maybe it wouldn't matter which path I took. Maybe it's just the culture here.

"Well. It mimics what you'll be getting from Iain: cases."

 _You mean I'll be running around with a gun like Caim did? I'll be hurting people? For some reason the idea of shooting at actual people didn't equate to shooting at manikins._

She continued, "Mattie, do you want to take over?"

He strode over and perched on the table next to mine. He looked confident like he had done it before. He probably has though. Caim had to learn and with Mattie's life span… who knows how many people he drank from.

"I've spoken to Iain who gave us a case regarding a vampire. I can't tell you the details because I don't know them but it's clear he's done some bad things to be able to get on Iain's list." Mattie paused. "His name is Martin Harding, a civil servant for the government."

I tried to swallow the lump that developed in my throat. His professionalism coupled with his tone of voice just radiated experience and knowledge. I'll call this Mattie, 'Professional Mattie'.

"But since he's a civil servant isn't that a bit dangerous? He might have done bad things but to kill him?" I made a face that was in between shock, fear and disgust. "Isn't that a bit much? I'm not saying don't punish a guy who did something wrong but this… this is overdoing it don't you think? There's also the fact that he's a high class citizen with the government that just adds to the flame. Not that I'm backing out of doing it but I do want all areas to be covered." It felt like I was rambling on so I shrugged my shoulders. I do want to know how people get on Iain's list in the first place.

 _Wait. Did I just say what I think I said? 'Backing out of doing it'. Either they interpret it as me pulling the trigger or I'll just be helping Mattie. Which one is it?_

"To us class and his job means nothing, Alice. Rose will clean up the mess if there is any. All we need to do is kill the bastards quickly and move on."

 _Damn, he said 'we'._

A few minutes followed where we were in silence and I was really contemplating whether I did want to be Mattie's advanced feeder. Knowing the name would make it harder to pull the trigger, right? I mean you could know their history, things they've done well and all that.

Sarah sighed. "You're the last resort. Rose only dispatches your team when the case is going nowhere. No parties have made a concession and warnings about his activity goes without ears."

"Which is why our part in Rose is very important." Mattie said leaning back on the table. "It's messy sometimes and there will absolutely be times when you'll ask the 'do I want to be a advanced feeder' again and again but know this: The people who get on Iain's list have been there for more than one reason. Plus they've all been going about their business for a few months if not - years. They all affect both the vampire and human society in a way Rose will not tolerate and if there is a merge of both societies, there will be chaos, and fear purely because of what vampires can do."

"But didn't Iain say the point of Rose was to integrate the societies?" I said frowning. I don't remember the exact words it was so long ago.

"No. Rose was set up with the aim of _dealing with the interaction_ between vampires and humans. It's different. We deal with their actions."

"Oh." I paused. "So this civil servant did all that? Ignored every warning and made no move to stop?" It made me wonder what Rose did to people who did stop because they could do it again.

"Yes. So the plan is a simple shot." Ah, back to business. "Harding will be hosting a party at his apartment in the centre of London. It starts at seven pm. We will not be physically in the building though. I've already stalked it out and set up everything so all I need is your presence for the few hours it will take to get this case completed."

 _This is it. The final exam. It's actually happening._

"I'll explain more when we're alone and actually there, sorry Sarah." He shrugged apologetically at her who dismissed it entirely.

"No problem!"

Turning to me he said, "Do you have any questions?"

Why is it when people ask you that, nothing comes to mind? "No, but I might ask some later."

And with that the exam was a go.

London in the morning is just hectic. Hundreds of people were on the streets and they didn't give a second glance at the vampire who was jogging right next to me. And damn if they didn't give him second glances as a vampire, it would be because of what he wore. He had a grey tracksuit on and a white shirt that either was too short for him or his pants were too low (those pants sat where it brought about fantasies), but you could see his toned body underneath. He wore those sunglasses that covered half your face and had a pair of headphones around his shoulders, the phone they were attached to swinging from the pocket at the seat of his pants.

Sometimes I'm glad I'm around this guy. Even if his mood changes really quickly.

As for me I wore a similar tracksuit, the top a navy blue with black pants (I seriously don't know where the other pair went), with a black vest underneath. My hair was tied up in a loose bun. It had been quite high on my head but with the jog, it sagged. I could feel some strands tickling my sweat soaked neck.

The sun should have been a reason to keep my spirits high but with the pending case at hand, I couldn't get the butterflies to die down in my stomach. I didn't even eat anything this morning. I felt if I did and jogged, I'd throw it up sooner than later. And throwing up in public in daytime was not something I fancied.

Mattie saw my nervousness. I was lagging behind him as if I could delay the inevitable. "Alice? You alright there? Do you need some food? We could stop for that." But he said that looking at his watch.

"No, I just have a stitch." I lied gripping my side slowing to a walk.

For the past hour we'd been jogging around the block going past some construction with the dust flying all over, weaving through people on their phones and dodging the cyclists. I didn't know why we were here in the morning.

After another lap Mattie spoke, "Do you see that apartment there?" He descreatly pointed to some glass walls that were on a second or third floor of a building in the distance. "That's where the party will be held. We will be in the opposite building." Across from that was a building under heavy scaffolding.

As we drew closer I could see the glass walls were part of a hotel. A five star hotel.

"You mean... only one shot?" I panted catching my breath.

Parties meant a lot of people so if the first shot missed, all the guests would try to find where it came from once the panic died down.

Mattie nodded then shuffled my hair in some sort of pat inadvertently lowering my hair bun. "Looks like you're actually learning something from Sarah."

I swatted him away half because I was short and with that, tried to remove those feelings for him I had buried deep within me. The other half was because I didn't like the idea of juggling the task at hand and my throbbing heart. "So? How do you know that's not bullet proof glass?"

"It's been checked beforehand."

 _Eh… Oh right he did say something about stalking the place. Are all cases going to be like this?_

As if he could read my he mind Mattie said, "only this case since it's the very first."

I looked at him with an I-don't-believe-you-face. Surely vampires can't read minds.

From this angle we couldn't see what was in the room so he said to ask more questions later.

We left at exactly seven when the party starts. Since Mattie had more experience in this, I took his lead.

We were dressed as if we were going for a night out. I had a leather jacket with a green blouse on and coupled with black skinny jeans and my hair loose matched the whole look. Mattie just wore a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top with a pair of suit pants. He looked like he had just got off work.

The night was clear and there were people around at this hour. Add a few more, and there would be a bunch others on the streets. Noise from Harding's party flowed down the road - it was just that loud.

"Mattie, don't you think that by killing this guy would mean…" I shrugged, "that it might start something in vampire society?"

"No." He said it as if he wanted the topic to die. "Rose sends out warnings to the guy on his actions. Vampires are well aware of each other's doings although we don't publicly say so. We can guess who will find Rose's letter on their doorstep."

 _So their society is more like 'you brought it on yourself…'._

After walking down we turned into the building opposite when no one was looking, weaving through all the scaffolding.

The place turned out to be abandoned. Dust lightly covered the cement floor and the whole room had that stale air smell. Flecks of brick wall fell like petals on the ground thanks to the drought of the door we had entered.

"Follow me." Mattie said his voice echoing. Grabbing my hand he lead me what looked like several rooms before we came to a flight of stairs. I couldn't see anything. The scaffolding was taking what little light that came in.

Light on the first floor was better mainly because of the light of the party next door. And damn, the music from next door was loud.

From what I could see every room in this building was empty. Dust and concrete particles danced across the air as we walked. Finally Mattie took me to a corner. He let go of my hand to kneel for something before light streamed from a gap in the wall he had made.

The light caught it. What he had brought me here for. A gun. And not just any gun, a sniper.

"Mattie…" I could tell what I had to do. I wondered and wondered but thought better of it. No. I just didn't believe it.

"Alice, this is your exam. You will shot Martin Harding."


	10. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

When cornered an animal faces its enemy. It hisses and bites if necessary. But at the bottom of it all, it's scared. Scared of what might happen to it.

I remember that as I watched the TV back at The Manor. Caim and Mattie were lounged on the large sofa, hands locked together absolutely at ease with one another.

On TV a dog was abused but it still had enough energy to put up a fight. Its captors had cornered it with those reinforced dog leads, and were trying to get it round the snarling dog's head.

I remember Mattie said something which made Caim and I look at him in horror or shock and we tried desperately to argue against what he had said.

Looking back at it now I could argue and reason my way out but this was my _test._ After two years of training if I didn't do this, it would be a waste of my life.

 _But taking another life…_

I examined Mattie. His face gave nothing away and neither did his body language.

So I stared straight into his eyes hoping that this would at least get to some part of him, "Mattie, do you want me to be your feeder?" I felt a slight thrill when I heard my voice didn't fail me followed by the disappointment of picking this time to ask.

It caught him off guard as his eyes widened. "Of course."

"Advanced or not?"

"Either."

Shit. He won't say now. If he did it would be about Caim.

"Oh and here," He patted his pockets for something before taking out a piece of paper. A picture. "This is his image." Holding out for me in front of the light the missing brick created, I saw a blown up face of a man staring back at me with short black hair that didn't reach his shoulders and with brown eyes which smiled at me. He had high cheekbones and his skin had no blemishes, no spots, no imperfection.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. Taking a life even if he did bad stuff… that just sat really badly with me.

Mattie looked at his phone. "I'm not trying to force you but this is part of your training, Alice. This is one of the most important things you will have to face if you want to be an advanced feeder. Harding will need to die before the party ends tonight."

 _You say that but then say a time?_

"What happens if I don't pull the trigger after that?" My voice was just a whisper. It was a good thing Mattie had good hearing. I don't think I would have the courage to even repeat it.

"I will be your insurance." It was a definite answer.

"What happens after? Won't all hell break loose?"

"No. I have everything covered."

"Okay." _Argh. It feels like I'm going to be sick._

"I'll be downstairs if you need me okay? Just call my name."

I nodded as he descended the stairs before looking at the sniper already set out for me. A brick has been chiseled out of the wall and it lay next to the gun.

I looked away stumbling to what I thought was a pile of rubble and was dry retching. I only thank God nothing came out because I don't think I could take the smell.

Collapsing on my knees as I wiped my mouth on the back of my sleeve I thought, _what the fuck? Caim did this right? Mattie must have killed countless of people. Get your act together! They're still…_ I struggled with the words. _They're still 'normal' considering the things they have to do. They both laughed in front of me many times. A real genuine laugh that looked like they were just living the moment… and Mattie…_ I looked at the stairs. _Mattie is still next to me poking fun when I feel so overwhelmed with this things I_ have to _accept because of Caim._

It was only then I realised I didn't blame Caim for my life so far. Or rather I'm glad that he made this decision. It was selfish of him but… but… what? I didn't know how to answer that.

The beat of the music changed so I looked through the scope, maneuvering it so I had a picture of what was happening.

The room was large. There were two floors but the second floor gave a clear open planned view of the first floor. On the first floor a kitchen was just under the second floor separating the main room from the main room an island running parallel to the floor. People there laughed and talked. Some were snorting drugs. Some were eating. Next to it was the main room. Sofas crowded a TV screen which played some weird and random decorations.

There wasn't much on the second floor. I couldn't see much because so many people were there. Most had cocktails in their hand or hands. At this range I couldn't tell who was a vampire or not.

Harding was on the sofa in the main room, an arm around a blonde with a dress that looked like it was too small for her. I mean really her boobs look like they were going to pop out at any second. He was just generally having a good time and occasionally his drink (he held it with the arm around her), would spill on her dress but she didn't mind. She just took his glass and spilt it on her lap saying something to him which made him give her a seductive look. _Ugh. Double ugh to the type of women he's into._

My finger trailed along the trigger. _I wonder what he did..._

I breathed slowly something Sarah taught me when I started to learn to shoot. Cleared my overactive head of thoughts which made me doubt myself and what I was doing to land myself here about to murder someone.

As I aimed my cross hair on his head, his gaze shifted to a man in black. I assumed it was his security. It was a bit weird seeing none when I first took a look of the place.

The man leaned down to his shoulder to whisper something. I'm not sure. I had a bad feeling about that so I took a shuddering breath, finished lining up my aim and shot Harding in the head. Through the shattered window which now looked like a fly's eyesight, the after shot picture could just just be made out.

Harding rolled back on the sofa as the blood splattered on his lady friend and on the bodyguard. It covered the sofa and the rest of his drink flew behind him. I imagined it smashing just like the glass. She screamed scrambling away from his body bringing in a whole new level of panic and hysteria as other people realised what had happened as they rushed to the doors. People from the balcony stared which made me think they were vampires.

Something grabbed my arm. I almost screamed had the hand muffled my mouth. Shocked I saw it was Mattie. "We have to move fast!"

Practically dragging me away from the gun, he started to tuck the whole thing away in a sports bag. He also replaced the missing brick in the wall. In the next minute he took my hand and we headed out.

People were still screaming as they raced out of the apartment. Still keeping tight hold of my hand, it looked like we were going to go but I held back.

"What's wrong?" He said as he looked at me darting glances at the people. "Police will be here, I can hear them."

"Won't they see us?" I pointed to the running guests.

"No, not in this state."

Beneath all the noise I couldn't hear the sirens but considering Mattie has significantly better hearing than I, I had to take his word for it.

Still holding my hand, he tugged me sharply out on the pavement to run with the crowd. As we turned a corner I saw the red and blue flashing lights of the ambulance as it raced past.

I couldn't forget that face. The splatter of the blood and the face that came with it. It flashed every time I blinked.

" _You need to keep your eyes open."_ Sarah said. " _But you need to be careful with that in the long run."_


	11. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

"Home secretary, Martin Harding has been shot and killed last night."

That was the headline of next day's newspaper and broadcast. It detailed how Harding had been having a party in his apartment when a shot flew through the window shortly after eleven. No one knew the cause or the motive for it and no one had taken responsibility for it.

I was sat on the sofa in front of the TV back at The Manor but perked up when I heard Harding's name. The journalist was at the scene, standing not too far from the apartment which had been blocked off by tape and police. In the distance a white tent had been erected.

I switched it off.

"Rose intervened I see." Mattie's voice came from behind me. He patted my shoulder before sitting next to me. "You okay?"

I shrugged. Putting an arm around my shoulders he said, "if there's anything you need or want, just ask. The first one is hard but it's one of many if you choose to continue."

"He really did something that bad to get killed?" It only occurred that the sniper used to kill Harding was especially for vampires.

"Yes."

"I wonder what is was." I needed to know but somehow I thought it would make it worse. All I got was a constant pat and occasional rub on my shoulder.

Mattie received a phone call from Iain as I was grabbing a bite to eat. We were still back in The Manor with Mattie upstairs doing something.

Since what happened with Harding four days ago I kept telling myself I was fine but in reality my hands shook so badly even I thought I was made out of jelly.

My thoughts were too far and too fast for me to grasp and everytime I closed my eyes, I'd see the moment the gun drove the force of the bullet into his brain. Blood spewed everywhere. And I'd think, 'I did that? Did I really do that?'.

I kept quiet. From Mattie and Iain. I know they were trying to and offering their help but how do I put into words this sense of alienation within myself?

My hands gripped the edge of the countertop for stability. My body immediately felt so tired and cold.

 _How can I overcome this?_

I was not like Caim. I did not know how Caim dealt with these emotions that bubbled inside of me with no outlet.

 _How? How? How?_

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind. Mattie.

"Mat-"

His head rested on my shoulder, his cheek barely grazing mine. "Shh… I'm right here, Alice. Even if you can't say anything at all. I'm not letting you suffer alone. You're with me and we are bound by blood."

I let him take my weight as I rested against him. He wasn't warm like human.

"I know it's all locked inside your head."

He knew. Hearing those words brought a relief so harsh it sprung tears to my eyes and I cried.

"Iain gave us some time off." Mattie said. It was late and I was heading to bed. Crying made me immensely tired.

I turned toward him. "Really?"

"He said you can return when you want to but when you do, to have a definite reply for him."

"Ah…" _And so that question pops up!_

I sighed hobbling up a few more steps. How do I get past this?

I woke up shocked and sweating. Remnants of the dream were drifting away. I had to go to the bathroom to freshen up.

The brightness of the next day made me realise something. Laying on the bed with the white ceiling greeting me in the morning brought the memory of Caim's funeral. I believed I wouldn't get over the day but with the support from everyone, it wasn't the huge ache in my chest it was then.

I had to rub my chest then.

Maybe, just maybe I could get over this even if it seems impossible.

Mattie was making breakfast. Plates had been set on the island, dishes were on the sink as well as bubbling on the stove. I saw the waffle iron out.

"Morning, Alice." He smiled when I reached the island in my pajamas.

"Morning, you." I thought he was going to say something like, 'did you sleep well?' which, of course I did not. I just rested my eyes praying that daylight to come. I assumed he would know because… well, vampire skills.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" He asked.

 _What?_

"I don't have anything planned." I said as he started plating up. Mattie had made himself a portion too, I noticed.

"There's a market happening in town, I thought you might want to join?"

"Sure." I didn't really know what to do with my time being without a case.

For a planned day out I thought that the sun would know we were going out and would take a step to the side and let it pour down, but it didn't. Seriously, when I was at university whenever we had a trip it would pour down heavily even though by the looks of the previous day, it would not. Even the weatherman would say so.

On this day, rain evaded us as Mattie and I took a taxi to the location. I didn't feel like dressing up so I went with a black hoodie, a grey vest and jeans. Mattie was dressed in jeans and a white shirt. We were silent. But the drive there was only ten minutes and I could tell we were nearly there when the smells of street food wafted through the open window making the waffles Mattie cooked seem simple.

Tents slowly popped into view half covered by the mass of the crowd with food in their hands.

It looked colourful. I hadn't seen happiness in a while, I think. The world I knew was dripping in blood and so much of it.

"Your mouth's hanging open."

My head shot to look at Mattie who was smiling. "It's a good idea to get you out of the Manor, then."

"I can stuff myself happily." I grinned. Mattie laughed.

"Well rolling you home isn't such a bad idea."

I giggled looking around at all the stalls. From what I could see there was a stall dealing only in sushi, one in pasta, others in different Asian cuisines… the list was endless! Where should I even start?

We decided on walking first to figure out what to have first. But something clicked in the back of my mind.

"What's wrong?" Mattie asked.

I looked around. I saw no or little vampires which was expected at this hour. Nor was it the people around me who stared or gave Mattie second glances.

It was that I was back at university again. The food stalls were being hosted at the university campus.

I looked at Mattie, "Mat-"

"Alice? Alice Darling?" A voice penetrated through the noise from behind me from a girl I knew like the back of my hand, Amy Richards. She and I were together since primary school when her parents decided to live down south from Scotland until… Rose took me in.

She was different from the image I had of her from over two years ago. Amy had dyed her hair from a natural chocolate colour to a lighter shade of brown, almost a beige. Her eyes wore the same welcoming gaze though and I brightened up completely. She wore an electric blue thin jumper with skin tight jeans or leggings, I couldn't really tell the difference between the two and high heeled boots. Silver accessories made the look seem higher class and her red check scarf brought a little bit of another colour.

Amy hugged me then held me at arm's length. "Where the hell have you been? Karl's told everyone you weren't coming anymore because you transferred! How dare you!"

Karl was our - _was my -_ tutor. He was a laid back guy in his mid thirties now with blond hair and glasses.

 _Ah, I missed her Scottish accent._

It was then she noticed Mattie. Dumbfounded with the hot guy next to me, she murmured a quiet, "Oh, hello."

"Hey, I assume you're a friend of Alice's?" Seemingly oblivious to the fact Amy was practically drooling over him which, I had to admit was like a stab to my heart, Mattie gave a megawatt smile. She nodded. "I'm Matthew Taylor."

 _Oh, God. Uhm…_

Amy's face darted between the two of us with an obvious unspoken question written on her face.

"He's my…" _Partner? What. She'll get the wrong idea!_ "Friend."

I think even Mattie gave me the same expression Amy gave me. I didn't exactly _see_ his face, more like saw it from the corner of my eye.

 _What's wrong with what I said? There's the rules to think about! Like rule eight and nine!_

"Well, Alice and I have a bunch to catch up on!" She told Mattie, then to me, "You have to tell me when you're free next so we can catch up! At least tell me what uni you're going too."

I said the first uni that came to mind. "Birmingham." I do not know why. Birmingham was miles away.

Amy pulled a face. "Isn't that far away?"

Before I could overwork my brain to think of yet another answer, Mattie said, "You could take your time with Alice today. I'm running late to work."

 _What?_

Amy cheered pulling on my arm as Mattie leaned toward me to whisper, "have fun." There was no doubt in my mind that from Amy's perspective, he looked like he was kissing my cheek goodbye. It was that and my subsequent blush of his closeness.

I wonder what was going through his mind.

I spent the rest of the day with Amy. Occasionally she would introduce me to her new friends - friends that she made during the two years I was studying at Rose - chatting profusely while we followed our noses to discover what yummy food we could eat.

It wasn't until we sat down at a seating area sometime between six and seven in the evening when she started getting serious. On some level I tried to ignore that fact as it struggled within me. She was someone who acted in a 'I'm joking' way so sometimes it was hard to determine whether she was actually serious or not. But you knew that the longer she was with you, the more likely she'll pulled you to one side and talk to you about the more important topic on her mind.

I hadn't seen Mattie all day. I guessed he went with the actual intention of me catching up with Amy or he was back at The Manor. Or he was actually with Iain having had some sort of call beforehand.

It was getting dark but lights shone through the darkness that was creeping up. Some came from the stalls that were working for the night, some from the lamp posts that dotted the area and even some from their phones. The seating area was actually in the middle of all the stalls which was great because I didn't particularly want to be off the main path of the market. For some reason I felt like I had to look out for Amy in case there were any vampire that were rogue. And pray to God that the senses that I developed through training were sharp enough to be able to tell what a rogue vampire looked like.

Amy sat down opposite me.

"Seriously though," she started in reference to our earlier conversation. "What's up with you? You're gone for like two years suddenly going off to Birmingham uni and there's an absolute hunk of a guy right next to you claiming to be your friend? Don't think I let that one slip away!"

I sighed. "Amy…"

"Don't 'Amy' me, _Alice_." She stared at me.

I groaned inwardly. "It's complicated."

"It's complicated on tell me that Matt or whatever his name is, is your boyfriend?"

If I was suddenly drinking the coke I had earlier in the day, I would have spat it out all over her. Instead I gaped at her ignoring the fact that my face was getting hotter by the moment. "What?" _Is that her important topic?_

Amy was nodding. "Do people even leave uni to be with a boyfriend? Sounds stupid to me."

"Amy, we're not- What? How did you even come up with that?" I sank back in my chair dumbfounded with this logic.

But as I leaned back, she leaned forward. "Well, as long as you're happy and I can talk to you more, right? Seriously, once Karl told us you were suddenly transferring unis so early in the semester, no one in the class could believe it. I tried texting you, emailing you and calling you, but it never went through. What's with that? I'd get one might be bounced but not all of them."

I swallowed. It sounded like Rose sorted out the aftermath of what was still hanging after Caim's funeral.

"I even went to your parents house but they gave me the address I was staying at." Amy continued. "Your Facebook and Twitter died. Including Skype and Discord!" It was like you just fell off the edge of the world. And I started asking Jamie and all them but they were all like 'I haven't seen Alice in like a year'." I laughed when she deepened her voice to sound like the guy who was a friend of ours since forever.

"Alice!" She cried out. "What happened? Tell me!"

I couldn't tell her about all the vampires out there and how Mattie took me to Rose and everything else that happened. But I knew that being off the map for like two years needed a decent reply. I looked away in thought.

 _What should I say to even convince her?_

"Amy, I'm not sure how I should tell you this. But something happened then so I had to leave. Mattie's been with me all the way so he's more like a rock to me rather than a boyfriend." Jeez, when I said _boyfriend_ I even felt a slight bit of happiness and a dizziness that meant I was really, _really_ in love with him.

"Being off social media was a way to avoid all the questions so I could put myself back together again. I couldn't deal with the uni work so... " I shrugged, "I left and treated it more like a gap year to try and recover." There. That sounded decent enough, right? I'm amazed I even thought of something like that on the spot.

I also hope that she doesn't ask me about Caim. I don't think my heart could take it.

Amy leaned back as if she treated being in my personal space as being able to hear me better.

"Okay."

Is that it? Was that all?

"How's uni going at Birmingham, then?"

 _Uhm…_

"I bet it's just like ours… I'm stumped in writing for my thesis and it's due in two weeks."

Amy and I parted at around nine after exchanging our phone numbers and agreeing to meetup again next time. But with her uni work and my… activities, I wasn't exactly sure if we could even meet up at all. But I decided not to mention that. By the time I arrived back at The Manor, it was warm and strangely welcoming.

The lights were on. I'd never been back at The Manor at night before so I could see how bright it shone despite the curtains drawn.

If I didn't live here I wouldn't have known how friendly it really was. The grass no one cut in forever was way too long which obscured the view of the ground floor. The old Victorian building with its spikes, scales and whatever else gave it a look more suited to Halloween.

But before I could open the door I paused. The walk home gave me time to think. Not once during the day out did I think of Harding. Was that what Mattie was aiming for? To occupy my time with happier thoughts?

But now that I met Amy again I was wondering what kind of feeder I really wanted to be. I needed a bit more information for that which I hoped I would ask Mattie about tonight.

I found the man in question in the kitchen. I smiled, "Hey." that smile grew larger by a few millimeters when I saw he was top naked.

 _Damn. I don't think I'll tire of Mattie like this._

"Welcome back, Alice." Mattie was opposite me on the other side of the island in the kitchen. I wasn't sure if he was actually naked or just the top half. He pulled a stool to sit, as did I. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, thanks to your excuse to get out of there." I eyed him.

He grinned, "I wasn't that far."

"Eh?"

"I just… wanted to see how you were like with other people. You looked happy."

"You could have joined."

His head tilted to the side. "Yeah…"

A silence drifted over us. I wasn't too sure what to say for that so I decided to go with what I wanted to ask him.

"Mattie?"

"Alice?"

I swallowed. "You know with the feeder thing… what happens if I decide to just be a normal feeder?"

Mattie hummed. Okay, maybe I should have asked him when he had clothes on.

"You'll go back to the circumstances when Rose recruited you. In your case it would be going through university so Rose will deal with the university with your certificates and all that. From there it'll be just a normal life for you, getting your degree, job hunting… things humans do. The only difference would be that I would still be taking your blood that would be our only means of physical contact. But it's okay, Alice, I don't mind you living here if you choose to live a feeder life."

That's as close to normal as it gets, I think.

Mattie got up to go to the fridge and grab a blood packet. He had boxers on.

"What do you think I should be?" I asked it before knowing a vampire's memory is clear and sharp but I wanted to have confirmation...

He looked at me then. "I can't make the decision for you."

"I-I know." I squirmed in my seat.

"What about the blood bank and all that?"

"You'd still have to donate."

I nodded. _If I choose a feeder life I'd write my thesis for uni, head into a job market that fluctuated and might possibly face rejection emails. I'd find a place somewhere away from Mattie because it just didn't feel right if I stayed here._

 _But if I choose the advanced feeder lifestyle then I'd have to deal with the emotions I felt when I… shot Harding. Do I have the mental capacity to go through it every time? Will I eventually get over it like Mattie and Iain?_

 _There was also another reason. The support._ Having been in Rose's company for two years I hadn't been in contact with anyone from uni. Well, minus one. If I chose the normal feeder lifestyle I'd have to go back and reacquaint myself or make new friends. I did not like that prospect at all.

Rose offered acceptance and support… and two guns. _Ugh._

It was only then I noticed Mattie staring at me. "What?"

"Nothing."

I narrowed my eyes. "You can't say that and expect me to accept that, surely?"

He sighed. "I was just thinking how different this decision is compared to Caim's."

Now that got my attention. "What do you mean?"

Mattie leaned back against the counter top with his now warmed up foul smelling blood in a mug. "Caim was pretty decided on becoming an advanced feeder. Even before we told him the risks." He nodded, "you want to know what you're signing up for."

"I have to, don't I?" I mumbled. "It's not exactly my decision to be with Rose."

"That too. But hey, you don't need to rush into it. It's not like Iain wants an answer from you tomorrow. Sleep it over and we can talk in the morning on it, if you prefer."

I sighed mumbling a 'good night'. What he said was true, I didn't have to rush but with meeting Amy… I felt like I might be a step closer to making a decision.

I lay awake next morning staring the ceiling down as if I was in a competition with it. There was a weight on my shoulders but it was much worse than last night.

Lately my sleep was plagued with shots of Harding but last night's sleep wasn't. I knew I dreamt of something but I couldn't think of what it was.

But when I turned my head to look at the clock, I was greeted by emerald eyes.

"Shit! Mattie!" Shocked, I scurried to the other side of the bed, almost falling over the edge. "What are you doing?"

 _Was he actually that close to me?_

His mouth had been so close to me. If I leaned in a couple inches they would have connected.

 _Ugh. And even just thinking it hit straight between my legs._ I had to rub them together and pray the vampire next to me did not notice or even mention it.

He was naked beside me. _Wait, he had boxers on last night!_

With one arm propped up on the pillow and his glorious torso in plain view, Matthew Taylor was a sight to behold. Which was very hard to avoid when the blanket covered the lower half.

 _At least let me know that he's wearing them!_

"Morning, Alice." He grinned. _Ah, it's Playful Mattie who's out now._ "I was concerned so I wanted to know you were getting a good enough sleep."

Did he know about two nights before?

I looked away. There was only so much I can handle with him like this _right next to me._

"I'm fine."

"I see."

I curled up against him, my back facing him as if he was going to spoon me. I didn't feel like getting up just yet.

Thinking about last night after sleeping on it gave me a lot more questions to ask him. I felt kind of embarrassed to ask.

And to bring up Caim again… and it's a comparision between him and I! I was not like my brother, so why?

A hand patted my head. Or it shuffled my hair a bit.

"I guess you have a million questions to ask?" Mattie mumbled against me. I know I brought about this position but him and I… in this way… it felt right for my heart.

 _How can you fall in love with him now though? How can you even_ be _in love with him now?_

I stamped the thought down. I couldn't tell if Professional Alice said it.

"I guess." But first I needed food and food was downstairs.

As much as I didn't want to break free from this position, I had to get refreshed.

"Alice," Mattie took my arm. "Wait." His eyes were red. _Oh._

When was the last time he took my blood? I can't remember it was so long ago.

The hand on my arm slowly made its way to my shoulder and in a flash I was pulled on the bed with Mattie straddling me.

"Mat-"

I didn't struggle. What was that rule again? Rule two: Never fight another vampire. I think being in this kind of… situation...

Mattie looked like a man possessed. With eyes the colour of blood he towered over me sending a shiver race down my spine. There was no where I could turn to. I doubt I could have even bucked him off me even if he was human.

"Alice, you know as a feeder you should know how long your vampire can last without any _fresh_ blood."

"Technically I'm a feeder in training." I heard myself mumbling before I could stop myself.

"Or whether he or she loves the taste of microwaved blood in a mug." He leaned forward exaggerating his height to place a gentle finger on my chin to lift my face to meet his.

I had to close my eyes. I was suddenly shy. My face was hot. I was breathing deeper to curve that need I had for him between my legs. He'll know I was squirming for him.

"Alice."

I kept my eyes closed. No way was I going to stare back into those blood red eyes at such a short distance.

"Alice, open your eyes." His tone was much gentler than before and took one of my defenses down. Not once did that finger on my chin falter.

Silence descended upon us. My senses were on high alert wondering what Mattie would do next. Since the first kiss in the shower that I will _never_ forget, we had a few more hidden kisses so I could be be accustomed with his fangs. _Yeah right._

After a few moments I peeked an eye open. But just as I did so, Mattie claimed me with his mouth, taking advantage of my gasp to shove his invading tongue. Every time he did so it hit between my legs. I was squirming until he trailed the short length from my mouth to my neck and finally bit.

I sat in Iain's office. Normally Mattie would be sat next to me but right now he was leaning against the railing on the hallway. With Ted activated, Iain sat before me with his head under a bunch of paperwork, mine and Mattie's report of what happened nearly a week ago in his hands.

I didn't know what I was expecting. We received a call from Iain and here were are. Or rather, I was.

I cleared my throat which was the only thing that you could hear apart from Iain's occasional murmurs.

"Uhm, Iain…" I didn't really know what to say. It was something that could just break this really awkward silence.

"Right. Sorry." Iain said as he gathered up the reports, lined them up and placed them in a drawer tucked in the desk. "I've looked at both of them Alice and it's pretty clear that you have the ability to become an advanced feeder. Is that what you want?"

I swallowed. Ah, why didn't I think of this? "Yes."

"Then that's what you'll be. You realise the dangers, right?"

I did. Advanced feeders were in the line of danger and as a consequence of that they were prone to post traumatic stress. If the feeder had symptoms of it then they or their vampire would have to report it to their manager, in this case, Mattie or I to Iain.

If in the case you didn't get it then after twenty five years of service the feeder will have to leave Rose. This voluntary leave was mandatory for all feeders. It was a procedure put in place mainly for the feeders' health. I learnt all about it.

"Yes." My voice came out as a whisper so I cleared my throat again to say it louder and clearer. "Iain?" He nodded. "Why did Mattie have to write a report?"

"It's just how it's done, Alice."

"Ah…" On another day I probably would have questioned him further but I didn't really feel like doing much.

"Alice, are you sure? You certainly don't look like you want to be an advanced feeder." He came round to put his hand on my forehead which shocked me. Maybe it was me or maybe it was how he came across or maybe it was those words Mattie told me in the funeral car that just made me think Iain was all about the job.

I shook my head. "I'm fine, Iain."

"The first is always the worst and according to Mattie's report, it seemed like you kept it together. It's best to talk with Mattie, you know. He's seen a lot and since becoming his manager, he doesn't seem to judge many people. He's just a nice guy."

 _Eh…_ "Yeah, I know…" I paused. "Iain? What's with all the dirty looks Mattie gets? I noticed that before…" My voice trailed off not knowing how to finish that sentence. I just wanted his opinion.

Iain stared at me like he couldn't make up his mind whether to tell me or not. Finally he sighed saying, "To be honest I don't really know. If anything vampire society should appreciate Mattie." Iain went round his desk and turned on the computer. "I'm showing you this because you're his feeder."

Intrigued, I walked round to lean on his chair as he clicked on a few folders. They were all I known the archive section.

Iain opened one image file and I saw four people (two men and two women), in black and white all smiling at the camera. They all had Victorian clothing and were stood with their right hands clasped with one another. It looked like they were all friends. I recognised Mattie straight away. He was on the far left.

"This photo was taken in 1875." _Shit, Mattie's that old?_ "This photo is of the founders of Bloody Rose."

A moment went by before what Iain said clicked in my head. "Mattie _founded_ Rose?"

He nodded. "He's the last survivor out of the group." Iain pointed to the girl second from the left and slowly made his way to the far right of the photograph, "she died from pneumonia, he committed suicide shortly after this was taken, she died from old age at least that was what was said on the newspaper that covered the story." Iain closed the file then pulled up another, a newspaper clipping. The name of the printer wasn't there.

"What do you mean 'at least that was said'?"

"Mattie murdered them all."

"What?" A sense of dread filled my gut. I knew it. I knew he was a vampire and was capable of doing these things but… to hear it and have confirmed… I just didn't want to believe it. The Mattie it knew was not capable of something on this scale. He's nice and joked a lot and he does have his mood swings but that was it...

"You see here, Alice," Iain pulled me out of my thoughts as he zoomed in on the photograph of the group, specifically of Mattie's smiling face. "Mattie has bite marks on his neck. Fresh bite marks."

I got it. Newly turned vampires didn't have any experience in holding back their instinct. "So the only thing we know of his history is that he's at least this old."

"How come there is no record of his history? Is there a record of other vampires?"

"History records are Bloody Paper's jurisdiction. Right now we… don't have access to it…" Iain shuffled in his chair. "Since they moved HQ, we haven't had any updated information. And yes, we have records of every vampire but it's just Mattie's that we don't have."

 _So Paper is hiding something?_

"So other vampires know why they dislike him?"

Iain ran his fingers through his hair leaning back against the chair so far it balanced on two legs "I don't know. My guess is they don't class Mattie as one of them even though he has pure blood status or-"

"Pure blood?" _Shit! That's right at the top of the vampire order._

Seeing my face Iain grimaced. "All tests show Mattie is a pure blood vampire. I don't know how a vampire would think so…" He clapped his hands together. "Enough of the old info, let's bring Mattie in to give him the news."

As I made my way to the door, Iain said, "There's also one other thing," which made me turn around on the spot. "By any case are you in love with Mattie?"

I blinked at him. Alarms in my head rang and it was hard to hold a thought.

"No." But I said it in that 'of course I am' tone. The one that says I'm lying but I'm really bad at it. _Shit._ I blushed hard.

Strangely enough Iain raised his hands in a defensive manner. "I'm not being nosy Alice but it's my job to know - although I know that sounds absolutely stupid.

"You'll know some managers here are 'by the nine point book' and you can probably tell that I'm not one of them with Caim and Mattie's relationship. So don't fret and neither am I going to tell him."

I sighed, "Okay, I am then." I was at the door now turning Ted off. It was only then I looked at him. Lately Iain surpasses my impression of him and to look at him now made me feel a bit closer to him. I suppose it was his years on the job that made him ask the question.

"Just be careful okay?"

"I know."

As I opened the door I saw Mattie with his back to me leaning against the railing.

 _Damn he has a good ass._ I shook my head, _what?_

"Mattie?"

He turned slowly. I guess he thought I was going to join him but saw I kept Iain's door open.

"Aw, Alice, what's wrong?" I only realised what he said after he took my red cheeks in his cold hands after walking the short distance toward me. Damn, I wasn't over my blushing yet?

"Nothing. Iain wants to see you."

"Sure?" I think it was a question. Or he was just saying sure to the Iain part. I just nodded and let him through.

Ted reactivated and both sat on the usual chairs, we faced a smiling Iain who told Mattie of my decision to become an advanced feeder. I got the biggest grin from Mattie and a damn near to death bear hug. Was he secretly hoping I'd follow him? Was he hoping I'd be like my brother and follow those footsteps? I am not like my brother. But every time I said that, it felt like I didn't know Caim at all. I only knew of his life above ground with me at The Manor. It was like he had been living two lives.

 _Just take it one step at a time._ I reasoned with myself. _And stop comparing yourself to Caim. It's not healthy._

"Alice," Mattie spoke into my hair. "I welcome you fully to Rose."


	12. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

"Next news is a case and since it's your first official case…" Iain nodded in my direction, "it's security."

Mattie chuckled, "Should have known."

"What's security?" I said my head bobbing between the two men.

"It's the easiest case there is. All you do is go to the party that needs 'security'." Mattie said.

"Pretty much." Iain chimed in. "Security is mainly associated with vampire society. They use Rose for a number of reasons: Flaunting off their contacts, having independent eyes if in the case something goes wrong, which nothing ever does," he added counting off the reasons off on his fingers as he bobbed his head, "or they just want our presence. Mattie, I've sent you the details. The party is tonight."

We both nodded although only Mattie should be the one to but I had the feeling I needed to nod as well.

"Also since you'll be in vampire society, you will not carry heat."

"Oh, because they'll know what I'm carrying?" I said. Sarah did mention it before in passing. Something about their eyes being able to see many things.

Iain nodded. "It's custom and courtesy that no weapons should be brought. Remember you're representing Rose. Finally… have fun and don't die!"

 _Well._

So when we arrived back at The Manor I took a nap before an excited Mattie woke me up to get ready. Don't ask me why he was excited.

We were now nearly there in a Rose rented black Mercedes. The party was hosted by a pure blood vampire, Lord Edward Davison. In my studies with Sarah the Davison family had historic ties with Rose although the details of which had been watered down to the point where Iain just said that the invites Rose received was passed down the family. No one questioned it. Full stop.

I wore a black dress that swayed around just above my knees and silver heels with my hair tied back messily in a bun at the back of my head. Mattie wore a tuxedo. Right now he was driving without the black coat. It hung from the back passenger hook behind him. His shirt was newly ironed coupled with square cuff links. To be honest I would have laughed if he'd worn a bow tie, laughed more so if it was a clip on but he chose the classic black tie. James Bond style.

Mattie hadn't spoken much since we left Rose. I suppose he was in a mood again so I didn't push it. It gave me some time to my thoughts.

Have fun at a party full of vampires? Sounds like I'll be in the mouth of the lion. In theory vampire society were sophisticated having lived so long. But that was in theory.

I sighed. "They might just be like Mattie."

"Hm? Who will?"

 _Did I just say that out loud?_

"I just thought how it'll be. I never really met another vampire apart from you and Sarah." I shrugged it off. It only occurred once I said it that it was highly likely considering Iain said 'pure blood'.

"That's right…" A moment passed as he changed gears.

"Mattie, what are vampire parties like?"

"Very extravagant. Think of a rich man and the lengths he would go to make sure everything is perfect."

An image popped up of a huge mansion with a few chandeliers, silver cutlery with really old furniture with a bunch of maids and butlers roaming around the place. A party there would probably mean black attire.

 _Thank God I'm not over dressed then._

Mattie continued, "Just have fun. But just don't drink there."

"Drink?"

"We're there."

Under the darkened sky we were on a large gravel road with large trees bordering it. Just a few meters in front of us as the car rolled until a stop was a large metal gate detailed with gold. I could only see the gold because of the lamps on either side.

As Mattie edged the car closer the gate automatically opened revealing a longer gravel path.

"Have you been here before?" I asked.

"No. This is the first security case I've had in a long while." Mattie grinned. "The last one was during Caim's early days as an advanced feeder. Feels good to have a change."

It felt nice seeing Mattie with a grin like the sun coming out after a period of rain. I didn't know why he was in a mood. Was it rude to ask?

Before us a large mansion (got that right), curved its way into view. It had three floors judging by the amount of windows there were and each one had its own decorated sill that swirled and looked really floral. Turrets pierced the sky as if it hadn't stepped out of the Halloween theme yet.

At the entrance which was elevated by a few steps, was a valet who greeted the visitors with a smiling face.

Soon Mattie and I were served and with my arm around his, we stepped into a large room that was lit by candle light making my hand tighten around his. Candles formed the chandelier - several chandeliers - and it cast an ominous glow. Stairs snaked along the walls meeting up at the centre where they made a little balcony. They led further on as one into the darkness.

A large archway opened to a dining room on our right where with the help of some more candles on the walls, I could make out a large table already laid out with gold cutlery and red napkins.

Along the walls were paintings of people I didn't know. Several cabinets sat just below them.

"Ah, Matthew, I didn't expect Rose to have sent you."

Out of the darkness a man appeared in a suit I couldn't see the colour of but his tie matched the colour of his eyes: red. He looked young but, I doubt he was in his early thirties, especially when his hair was silver.

"Good evening, Lord Davison." Mattie nodded. "I trust you know about my new feeder?" Mattie raised the arm I held. _Shit, this is the pure blood hosting the party?_

"Yes." Those eyes gave me a somber look. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Miss Henderson." _He called Mattie by his real name?_ "I pray tonight will be quite to your liking." _And they use damn weird vocabulary._

I pulled Lucy out. "Yes. It's my first time so I'm not sure what exactly to expect."

 _Why the fuck did I sound like a girl who's about to have her virginity taken?_ I quickly stomped the thought down before I started doing something I really shouldn't. Like laughing nervously. Or hysterically. One of the two.

Davison smiled indicating to our left. "Will you please make your way down the hallway and out through the double doors."

Mattie nodded thanks and we headed off. As we walked he patted my hand which had tightened even more. "You'll be fine, Lucy."

I couldn't help being nervous. A rock had settled at the base of my stomach making it uncomfortable. I took a deep breath.

The hallway was narrow. The wall on our right was covered in windows. Moonlight flooded through casting dark shadows on the marble flooring. It was almost like we were in a horror movie. Every time I passed a window I thought something was going to jump out or burst through sending millions of tiny glass fragments flying all over.

I looked at him. For one I didn't like the amount of people who said 'you'll be fine' even if it was from Mattie and Iain. It just wound me up more. And lately those words have been uttered out of his mouth more than quite a few times. Shouldn't I be used to it by now?

Secondly having a party full of vampires doesn't really sit well with me. Especially when the rules say something like 'don't engage in combat with any vampire'. Like what happens if something does happen?

The double doors Davison indicated were open and the room looked fully lit. The light just cascaded out in the hallway as if it couldn't hold anymore. As we neared I had to hold my free hand to my eyes until they adjusted.

The room was absolutely large. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling lighting the room up with dainty candles, like the room we first entered, paintings on one side smiled as if they blessed this party (at least I could see a lot more). On the other were large windows framed by dark red curtains which flowed along the floor. I had almost missed it due to the large columns which stood at regular intervals between each window and painting. A huge table lined that wall with an assortment of food and drink and if you couldn't make up your mind as to what to have, chefs stood behind the table in a narrow walkway were there to help.

In the centre was a few tables and chairs already filled with some vampires chatting away with champagne in a hand. Some stood.

 _"Don't drink"? I'm over drinking age, Mattie._

All of them seemed to have a sixth sense where all the vampires would pause whatever they were doing just to stare at us for a few moments before continuing.

I was still reeling from that sixth sense when Mattie said, "Lucy, darling, if there's something you need to ask me, just ask. Don't worry about anyone else." No doubt vampires over there could hear him. Maybe I just needed it said out loud.

"Alright then, _honey._ " I couldn't help it.

Mattie grinned, his emerald eyes playing with me. "I have to do a few things first then I'll join you later." Seeing my alarmed face he continued, "it's Rose related."

 _Oh._ "Okay then."

After miming 'I'll be back' which was very Arnold, he left.

Not sure where to head off to or what to do, I went to have a nibble at the food table covered in the same red cloth I saw earlier. The smell killed me. It made my mouth water and suddenly brought about a rumble in my stomach. Rice, curry, shrimps in a rich sauce, fish, meat, noodles - the list went on - were spread about the table. Mattie was right about me not drinking. The punch bowl was filled with blood and by the looks of it. I should have known. _So where did the champagne come from?_

 _That reminds me… am I the only human at this party? Since I just assumed I was considering Iain didn't even mention anyone else._

Looking around the room with the many vampires gossiping and dancing brought as much answer as looking for something in the dark.

 _It's a bit awkward attending a party with no one you know._

Although there were people I knew of. Like that woman in a black prom dress that looked more like a tutu. She was the wife of a great telecommunications executive director. The name alluded me. And that guy in a black pinstripe suit he looked like a guy in saw from one of Sarah's history books, who steered his village out of the hands of hunger. Yeah, it's old but I couldn't tell how old Mattie was after being with him for so long, it was doubtful I'd get the age right when guessing any vampire. Heck, I doubt I'd get the century right.

I sat down on one of the empty tables with my dish of noodles and fish purely because if I had nothing in my hand, I'd look weird and out of place. Although the whole idea of being here was horrendous.

"Having fun?" A hand on my shoulder told me it was Mattie. He sat on the chair opposite mine.

"You could say that." I waved my fork in his face. "I didn't eat before so having food here is an absolute bonus."

He laughed. "Well then Lucy, the idea of giving you food to keep you happy is dearly noted." _Yes, playful Mattie is out!_

I grinned. "Sounds good to me!"

He paused. "Considering this is your first time at a place like this…" _Oh God, you're bringing up the image of earlier!_ "I was thinking about showing you the dance floor."

I raised my eyebrow. "After eating?"

"I'd love right now but I do recall you haven't ate much."

I decided to swallow the last mouthful then stand up. After all when do you get invited to dance with a vampire who is also your crush?

The floor was already busy with couples twirling with the music. Some tails of the men's coats made them look even more elegant as did the women with long dresses which flowed with them almost like water. All of them smiled at each other without breaking eye contact and they never let go even when the dance meant temporarily getting a new partner.

Actually looking at them like this made me have that same feeling I had two years ago when I first arrived at Rose. I think it was Iain who gave me an answer but that didn't really sit right with me. It was a surreal moment. I'm not sure how exactly to describe it. The feeling of seeing something that shouldn't be there? The feeling that this happiness I see before me was fake for appearances only. It was out of place and… yes, that's right: plastic. I saw it then as I saw it now.

Guiding me to the edge of the floor Mattie said, "I'm going to put a hand on your shoulder and one on your waist. Put both hands on my shoulder."

 _What!_ Blushing furiously I complied.

"Jeez Lucy, you look like a little tomato!"

"Mattie!" _Damn him for this pose. I can't really look away. I'm actually dying of embarrassment right now!_

"Now follow me." Swaying his _waist_ he stepped to the left, right and center. I'm not an expert in dancing but I knew he knew nothing too. I got his cheeky grin as a reply. "Come on!"

We giggled like a really young couple after that. After a few songs of just dancing like that, I got introduced to the more complex dancing - the changing of partners - which was easier than I thought and I got to dance with that village guy for a few minutes. I lost track of where Mattie was when I danced with other people and it felt rude to keep looking for him. But just when I was going to get worried, he reappeared grinning with that twinkle in his emerald eyes.

I was out of breath. My feet hurt in these heels but thanks to Mattie, I had a really good time. I didn't know what I would have done otherwise. I didn't even realise that I had danced the last song until the host mentioned it was two hours till sunrise. Everyone moaned and sighed. They were probably like me who didn't want the night to end.

I found Mattie in the hallway. His coat was across his arm, tie was loose and a few of the top buttons had come undone. His hair was a mess which I secretly loved. He grinned at me. "Had fun?"

"Yes. Thank you, Mattie. Thank you so much." If we weren't in a stranger's house and if it wasn't for rule eight and nine, I would have seriously jumped on him. I'm not sure what would have happened but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had any regrets.

"What are you blushing at?"

"Nothing!" I grinned. Linking my arm once again around his, we started walking down the hallway with the orange light of the coming day filtering through the windows. We met Edward Davison waving goodbye to his guests to which we smiled and thanked him. I had a feeling we looked like a couple giggling away with our worn out clothes.

I think it was enough just to leave it at the hallway.


	13. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Four people sat at the back of a van: Mattie, Daniel, Jess and I and we were on another case. It was a linked case and apparently only the assassination division of Rose could take people out which was why Mattie and I were here.

Daniel, the vampire who takes my blood for the donation purpose, and his feeder and friend had point on the case involving a possible man Rose was either looking for, or he was going to be a problem.

Over the couple of years I had been here I did what I was supposed to. I attended the will writing every February and studied. It wasn't like what I experienced at uni. But that was basically it. Despite how busy Rose was, I still felt too shy to head down to the dip and introduce myself to other vampires and humans. Mattie and Iain seemed to think that they were the only two people I should know personally and professionally. Out of everyone I had been introduced to, Sarah was an exception. But with Daniel, I didn't know he had a feeder and met Jess Hawkins and she quickly became a friend. She was in her fourth year with Rose, after finding a vampire who was affiliated here and started soon after. Daniel, she told me, was not her first vampire partner. She had been through everything I had been through so we could relate to each other. Like me she could not understand the weird but welcoming atmosphere at Rose.

It was the night after the Davison dance and damn, my feet still ached. If I needed to get somewhere I'd have to hobble along like a penguin.

Iain called me after a few hours sleep saying it was an emergency and I needed to get to Rose fast. Mattie was already there, because of the sun and frankly his mood had turned sour again. When he left, it was of a worse state than his usual grumpy moods. Should I even ask him what was bothering him?

He didn't want to wait for me. Said he preferred to be alone with his thoughts even though as his feeder, I should be pry to it. But even I had trouble reading a vampire's facial expression.

So when I got there I found Daniel in his telltale white science coat pacing back and forth in a quick manner. I was the last to arrive and after being forcefully ushered into Iain's office, our briefing began.

I was happy. I swayed and bobbed my head like a bobble headed toy humming a tune. Jess was here! I had a chance to see her and it'll be my first case with her!

Daniel who was sat diagonally to me near the front seats, noticed my excitement. "Not sure how you are happy right now, Alice."

I stopped what I was doing when I heard my name. It sounded weird after being called Lucy last night. Heck, if I felt like this after one night, what will I feel like going undercover for a few months? I'd have to train my lying to a better standard.

"I'm happy because of Jess." I wrapped my arms around her shoulders almost rubbing my cheek against hers. "I love you, Jess."

She laughed. "Aw, I love you too!" Wrapping her arms around my waist we completed the set.

"Why don't you guys get a room." Mattie said grinning. He sat in front of me. "Or on second thought, don't."

"Technically this is a room..." Jess winked.

"...so get ready for some action!" I giggled pulling on her sleeve.

 _I love her so much. She understands the crazy shit going in my head._

"Argh. Not now!" Daniel cried, looking away.

"Yes, now!" Mattie grinning like a school boy. He was absolutely glued on us to which Jess and I burst out laughing. It caught onto Mattie and Daniel so the whole van was shaking in fits.

"Well, shit." Daniel said once they died. It was weird hearing him swear.

"Need an ice breaker after the hours we spent in here!" Jess said. It was true. Right now it was almost twelve pm and Iain called at six. We left Rose at six thirty. We hadn't left the van.

"Stake out duty. One of the most boring things you'll come across." Mattie said, leaning back. Rose's version of stake out duty was different to what you see on TV. The van was parked on the opposite side of the road to a building made mostly of glass. This was where a meeting was to take place. A camera was trained on the entrance which should beep every time someone was in radius of the double doors.

"By the way Alice, is there something wrong with your feet?"

 _Of course he'll realise. Although I thought he would have said something sooner._

"They ache because of last night." _Not that I regret anything._

He patted his lap. "Let me give you a massage while we still have time."

 _What?_

A light poking on my ribs from Jess told me I should take it.

"Jeez, Jess, are you trying to get Mattie and Alice set up?" Daniel said teasing. He had binoculars on looking toward the building. He didn't even look our way.

"What?" Mattie and I cried out together.

 _Fuck! Stop blushing!_

This time he did turn. Only to grin at us.

Mattie laughed, "Fuck you, Dan." Turning to me he added, "Alice, feet," to which I obliged.

 _Ah, it feels good…_

Ever since the dance at Davison's, Mattie and I started joking around a lot and many of the things we do are playful. Well, apart from his departure earlier.

I'm not sure what happened that made me feel this way - probably it only exaggerated how I felt about Mattie - but it seemed to have had an affect on both of us.

A continuous beep pierced my thoughts. The one that indicated that our time playing around was up.

Daniel put the binoculars away. "Everyone knows what to do?" We all nodded.

A man nicknamed 'Bruno', was hosting this meeting of six. Bruno was linked to a number of vampire murders that happened over the course of three months. I didn't know the exact link but I knew somehow he was involved and needed to be dealt with. I thought about talking to him when he was apprehended for more information but Iain and Angie - Daniel and Jess's manager - thought against it.

Prior to our being in this van, Daniel had kidnapped one of the women set to be at the meeting tonight. She was living in a cell at Rose unconscious. I was supposed to mask as her. Daniel was another showing his face at the meeting. Mattie would stay in the van to monitor everything and Jess would be hidden in the same room the meeting was held in for backup. Having a surprise attack would be an advantage and as such she was going to be armed. Alpha and Beta hung hidden on either side of her waist not to mention I suspected several other knives and other weapons were concealed around her slim frame. Alas only the vampires in the van would know what exactly she carried.

"I suppose I should head off now." Jess said getting up.

"Be careful, okay." I said. I meant it. I know it's wrong because of the lifestyle we chose - _or didn't choose_ \- if anything happened to Jess…

"I will." Climbing out the side door she had to move quickly to avoid the glare of the external cameras.

I sighed before taking my feet off Mattie's lap reaching over for the makeup box.

In an hour I was ready. Actually it probably would have been forty minutes or so but I demanded Mattie and Daniel to turn around or sit in the front seats whilst I changed clothes. I seriously don't want my naked body in a vampire's mind! Knowing that will definitely be the death of me!

I wore a black suit with a frilled white blouse tucked in a red skirt that poofed below the waist, designed to hid the two guns strapped around my thighs. My hair was tied back in a ponytail. Lips matched my red skirt to tie the whole colour scheme together.

Daniel had already got changed. He wore a beige suit, white shirt with a red tie. Blond hair combed back, he looked the part of a businessman looking to make a deal.

"Alice, you're disguised as Miranda Bell, with two 'e'" Daniel said.

 _Belle. Okay._

"You're the representative for Starling Publishing."

"What?" Starling Publishing was _the_ firm to get your real break in the publishing world. That is if you managed to even have a manuscript that impressed them. How was I going to impersonate this woman from an international well known company? And how did a publishing company get mixed up in all this?

"There's no time to explain." Daniel checked his watch as Mattie leaned over to the control panel next to me, where Jess sat in front of a moment ago. Over the arch of his back, Daniel added: "I'll go ahead. Remember the penthouse apartment and the key code is 0674." This was sent out via emails to the people involved. "Well then, I'll be off." Nodding goodbye Daniel opened the passenger door and hopped out.

I hardly knew what the meeting was about. All I knew was how to act. Kind of. And not acknowledge anyone in the room.

"You'll be fine, Alice." Mattie said smiling. He had put on a headset, one ear listening whilst the other was directed at me. "It may be your first time acting like this but remember we should have an advantage. Plus if it turns bad, Daniel will intervene being the vampire there."

I nodded swallowing hard.

He handed me something small, like a thumbnail but slightly smaller. "It's a receiver so you can hear me," he pointed to his mic, "I'll be with you all the way, Alice."

 _Oh._ I placed it in my ear. I could hear Daniel's voice "...well it's ten minutes to right now." It was followed by someone mumbling.

He then gave me a small microphone, the kind you see on the TV. "Can you clip this on your inner lapel?"

"Won't people see it?" even if I did clip it on the inner side, there would be a lot of noise from material rubbing against each other as I moved.

"No. I'll be able to hear your voice."

"Right…" _I keep forgetting he's a vampire…_

"Alright! Time to go!" Mattie spun me around and got me out. "Ten minutes till deadline, you heard Dan."

"Right." I headed off to make a turn into the neighbouring block ready to make it look like I didn't just emerge from a white van.

The building was almost completely out of glass. Through a rotating door a seating area housed a couple sofas and a small coffee table. At an angle on my left was the reception table in golden brown wood with a glass top. It was empty.

Straight ahead of me were the lifts. I took no trouble mounting it, remembering the pass code for the penthouse apartment.

I found it wasn't really a penthouse apartment when the doors opened to a corridor surrounded by three meeting rooms each with a large table and chairs. The two rooms beside me were unlit. I could see because the walls separating each one was… glass. Why the fuck call it a penthouse apartment then?

The one straight ahead had five people, including Daniel who stood at the corner. The door to the room was open so I could hear their conversation.

"Is this the last person?" A guy said. His eyes bored into me as I walked through the short hallway. Then I realised something. _Will they know I'm not… Belle? Miranda Belle. Shit!_

"Last person." The host stood up. It was Bruno, a bald guy with glasses in a tailored black suit. I hadn't noticed him because there was a group of four around him that you see on a first day of school.

Looking around this meeting room I wasn't sure where Jess was. I'd assume she was hiding in the other empty and darkened rooms.

 _I suppose they don't know who I am._

"Now, if everyone would sit down." Bruno gestured to the table. Almost everyone around me picked a seat and I joined them. Daniel sat two seats opposite me. "I'll go straight to the point." He said as he took his own chair at the end. "Before I get to the details. We're going to change location."

 _Jess!_

"Why? Is something wrong with this room?" A woman who sat next to me absolutely caked in makeup said. "It clearly is secure."

"Not when I have impersonators in this room." Bruno simply said. A silence descended upon us.

 _Shit!_ My pulse quickened. It was hard to calm myself down when the only thing that flooded my hearing was the rush of blood and the dizzyness at the new revelation.

 _Control yourself!_

"And who are the impersonators?" Daniel said. The guy was calm checking his manicure. His voice came delayed in my earpiece. I also thought he was repeating words for Mattie's sake.

My palms were getting sweaty so I wiped them on my skirt discreetly. It sounded like things were getting out of hand.

"Shit." Mattie said. Damn, I almost jumped in shock at how crystal it was. Almost like he was one of those sitting right next to me. "Jess, standby for a change in location."

"I don't think this meeting would have gone this far." I said. "Surely those impersonators would have been dealt with beforehand?"

"It was on short notice." Bruno said. "Now please make your way to the lift. We're heading to the basement."

"The basement, huh?" Daniel murmured.

I heard Mattie order Jess to get there before we got there.

All of us shared the lift. No one talked. No one made eye contact. Having Bruno so close was an advantage but with the other people…

A sense of dread filled my gut. Something was going to happen. Bruno knew we were here and I felt a warmth on my face. A tale tell sign I was embarrassed.

 _Calm down. Take a few breaths._

Mattie's voice came in my ear. "I can't reach Jess or she's not responding. I might have to go in."

 _Communication was down in the basement? Shit…_

It wasn't long till the doors opened to a large, unlit, concrete room. There were two columns of a blue metal shelving housing absolutely dozens of boxes and plastic. They separated in the middle making a wide pathway down. I could know just see the forklift tucked away at the end of one isle.

We stopped in front of the lift. A nasty chill crept up my spine with the foreboding feeling I will have to use Alpha.

Bruno was ahead. He clapped and a bunch of people stepped out from out behind us. In each of their hands was a bottle and a napkin. I didn't know what was in that bottle but shit, those people almost had me reaching for Alpha if didn't see Daniel not react from the corner of my eye.

He clapped again and the people advanced. The woman caked in makeup went down first. The guy covered her face with the napkin and after struggling, she collapsed on the floor after a few seconds. _Chloroform!_

After seeing that I kept my distance watching a woman who had eyes for me.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck! Do I pull Alpha?_

She lunged at me. Practically flying through the air. I ducked rolling forward. She landed a few metres from me. One of her buddies helped her get up and suddenly like four people were advancing toward me.

Another guy from the meeting room went down. I think it was the guy who stared at me. He was followed by another person.

How many people had gone down? I saw flashes of blonde hair but was that Daniel?

I felt something at my back. Shocked I turned realising it was Daniel. _Thank God!_

He was actually doing the same thing I was - dodging anyone.

Bruno stood arms folded in the centre with the large pathway making his stance look a lot more menacing.

"Why don't you stop?" He called out. "After all I do have something you want." He gestured for the people with the chloroform napkins to step down, I think. They moved to the lift and stood there with their backs to the wall.

Daniel murmured to me, hands twitching beside me. "He has an eye cam in his left eye. That's how he could tell we're the abnormalities."

 _Shit!_

"What do you mean?" I called out.

Daniel froze. "Dan?" No, he wasn't frozen. I could see him clearly being so close. He was restraining himself.

Then his eyes turned red.

I panicked. I had my hand on Beta.

 _Rule number two! Shit if he turns to me, I'm dead._

Then I heard it. Cries echoing through the concrete room. It gradually got louder and louder until I saw where it was coming from. She hung by her hair, cuts trailing along her arms. A pool of blood followed her at her feet which dangled in the air.

"Je-Andrea!" I almost said her real name. Jess! Not Jess. Anyone who hurts Jess, I'll beat them up. I'll make sure of it. But first _I need to get to her._

"Lucy." Daniel's voice sounded weird. Like he was keeping a lock on it. "I won't aim at you. These bastards need to pay for wasting her blood. For now aim at Bruno but do not kill him. I want my share."

Bruno had pulled out two guns. They looked alike and exactly like mine.

"Tell you what, Rose." He called out, spinning one of the guns around his finger. "These are pretty neat. Lightweight, durable and you don't need to reload one! I could shoot my share of filthy vampires all day and not get bored. Heck, I'm glad you got the leak." He stopped spinning it. The finger laid against the trigger at Daniel. _Beta!_ "You should feel honoured I'm starting with you."

 _Shit. This is why Bruno was on the list._

"Do you want her?" Walking towards Jess, he laid a finger to stroke her cheek. "You can have her." The crony threw her on the ground. She landed in a crumpled heap.

I rushed toward her. "Shit, shit, shit, Jess!" I straightened her out so she lay on her back. Her injuries. They were too severe. A stab wound had punctured her side. There was another along her shoulder. She had so many cuts.

I took my jacket off to wrap it around her waist and used the sleeves to tie together. Applied pressure. She groaned against the pain. My fingers were soon soaked in her blood. I didn't know how to even wrap her shoulder wound up.

"He took them." She rasped, "took my weapons."

"We know, Jess. Just don't speak, okay." Tears pricked my eyes. I knew I won't be able to save her. "Oh, Jess. Jess. Jess…"

I kept the pressure on her side. It kept leaking.

 _What do I fucking do? She'll die at this rate._

"Mattie." Jess whispered. "Don't…"

Just then a shot pierced the air. I snapped my head off Jess to look at Daniel who was fighting Bruno and to _fight at vampire_ is at brave thing to do. Daniel had stood still. He grasped his thigh.

Alpha _hit him. Thank God._

I don't know what I did but I found myself pulling my Alpha out. To aim at Bruno.

But as Daniel went down, Bruno clipped off several shots with Beta. I couldn't see where they hit but I knew they were fatal.

"Daniel!" I momentarily forgot Jess, standing up as he turned slowly toward us. The shock. The disbelief on it. There wasn't any words to describe it.

He looked at his hand and I saw it was falling apart turning to dust. It wasn't long before it spread to his whole body.

 _What the fuck! He killed Daniel!_

I was going to take him on. I took took a step forward but something tugged me back. Jess!

"It's okay, Alice." It was barely a breath. "It's okay." She closed her eyes.

"Jess? Jess!" Checked her pulse on her hand. I couldn't find any. _No, no, no…_ checked her pulse on her neck. Still no.

"Jess!"

I heard the lift doors open. There wasn't anyone there. Only one person emerged: Mattie!

He stared daggers at Bruno who was being whisked away by the chloroform people. I couldn't see where they were going. I had to take care of Jess.

"Mattie!" I cried. "Jess and Daniel…" Tears ran freely down my face. "He killed them."

"What?" In a second he was at my side kneeling next to Jess. Checked her pulse and pressed his ear on her chest. If I couldn't find a beat, Mattie will.

"Is she... she's not… is she?" my voice broke. Not Jess. My much loved friend.

"I can't find one."

I shut my eyes. Cries of despair rang around the concrete. It rang. On and on before-

"Help her." I said. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. "You can do it, right? I mean, you're a vampire."

"Alice…" He looked at me in disbelief.

"Mattie. Jess means everything to me." I remembered our giggle in the van earlier.

 _Earlier? It feels like it happened a long time ago._

"I can't." He ran his hands through his hair. "I can't do it, Alice."

"Why?" Jess knew. She was the other person apart from Iain who knew I loved him. I didn't tell her explicitly either. She just knew.

I didn't get an answer. "Mattie, it's not in the rules even if it were you said they were guidelines for me." _I don't get it._

He stood up and looked at me. "Alice I can't and that's it. It's morally wrong."

I hung my head. Had to wipe the streaks of tears away. Cried loudly.

 _I… Jess… I'm sorry. I'll… miss you so much._


	14. Chapter 12

Note - Excuse this chapter, it's not very good.

CHAPTER TWELVE

I stumped on the bed face down.

I had just come from Jess's funeral feeling so damn tired. She didn't want much. Only a few people were there, Iain, her and Daniel's manager, Mattie and her family and friends.

Daniel wouldn't have one in accordance to his will. Instead he'll have a place where all the other vampires who died go. They have their portrait at Rose so no one forgets.

I hadn't spoken to Mattie since that day in the basement. It's pretty pathetic. I just felt if I did, I'd get even more wound up and a possible need to sleep for a month.

Iain had came. He arranged Daniel's… ashes? Dust? _Sounds better with ashes…_ Daniel's ashes and Jess's body to be back at Rose. And while he was there came to comfort me who was really defensive about moving Jess and a Mattie who didn't look like he had moved since he had stood up.

I groaned. First Caim and now Jess. Two of the people I loved.

"Alice?" I heard his voice muffled through the door and the pillows. "Can I come in?"

I didn't say anything but heard the door open anyway. Then felt the sinking of the bed as he sat next to me.

 _I should really apologise for what I said. Even though technically I didn't really say anything wrong._

"Listen. I know it's hard. I've grieved for many feeders who were mine and not mine." _Caim…_ "what I'm trying to say is… that… the pain will go away just like the pain you felt with Caim's death."

 _He's trying to comfort me. In a weird way. I think._

"I still miss Caim. I miss Jess." I said. "I don't really want the pain to go away." _It feels like I'll forget them._

He sighed. "If there's anything you need or want to tell me, I'm right here, Alice. I won't disappear."

 _Disappear_ … At that word my head snapped up. Stared at him. Hugged him.

"Mattie, I'm sorry for what I said." _I never realised that could happen. That Mattie wouldn't be able to fully protect me._ Seeing Jess's body… seeing what she sustained _. I won't let Mattie see me that way._

I felt a pat on my back. "I know." I had to pull back to look at him again. His tone told me someone else said it before.

"I mean it. Mattie, I'll try my best so that you won't see me like Jess." I don't know what came over me but I feel really inspired.

His face softened and I saw a smile prick the corners of his mouth. "And I'll be there to support you."

"But," I whispered, "I'm scared." After seeing how a vampire died from Beta and Jess on the floor… I wasn't sure if I even had enough in me to continue. I was trying to concentrate what little mentality I had not to bog myself down with everything an advanced feeder will have to do.

He sensed my hesitation. "Do you want to step down from being advanced?"

"No!" I didn't even think I wanted to leave. "It's just... I don't think I'll be good enough. Physicality and mentally."

"All feeders go through that, Alice. You're not the only one to have said 'am I good enough?' But you have to remember - and I'm not sure who you are comparing yourself to, but say it was Caim, Caim had a lot of experience when he died. Well over ten years with me. He had his moments just like you. And I know that you will be as good or even better than him when that ten year mark comes around."

 _Will I even be next to Mattie in ten years?_

"Even if you're not, don't feel you have to be advanced all your life with me. You still have the option of becoming a regular feeder or you can just hang around Rose. All you need to do is tell me or Iain." He paused, "we do care about you, Alice. Your wellbeing, your mental state and physical state. They're both important as each other. I know you don't talk as much, but just know we are both here if you just want something or you want something off your chest."

I nodded. They are both observant. Very observant. "Thank you." I knew it but I guess maybe I just needed a verbal agreement.

Mattie's phone rang. By the sound of the ring tone, it was Iain. He answered it on the second ring.

"Iain?... Yes… Sure, we'll be right there." Looks like we'll be going to Rose again.

Iain was up to his shoulders in paperwork. Stacks of folders, dividers and just separate sheets were lined on his desk. It looked like he was pretty stressed out. Heck, he didn't even look up when we knocked, entered and turned Ted on in the process. Mattie had to clear his throat.

"Shit! I got carried away." Iain stood as he moved some of the stacks to one side.

"I don't really have much time to give a proper brief." He started going through another stack on his desk, flipping through the pages. He swore before going through the stack next to it. "Where did I… Oh!" Iain pulled out a yellow folder, opening it to grab a huge piece of paper before setting it on the desk as flat as possible.

"This is a map of the city."

I nodded. I recognised the parks and from them I could distinguish the roads. Several areas were marked with a red cross. They dotted around randomly.

"Daniel and Jess was working on this whilst on the... Bruno case." Iain said tentatively as if their names would trigger the waterworks.

"Over the past couple years there have been several murders, all of which were human, all drained of blood from the neck in a violent manner." He paused again.

 _Oh. He's being considerate with the information._ "Iain, it's fine." I gestured for him to continue.

There was a weird expression on his face. Kind of in the middle of concern and a frown. But he continued anyway.

"You can probably tell from the red markings that those are the places where the bodies were found." In the same folder he pulled out a bunch of photos tied together with a rubber band and gave them to Mattie so we can share.

My breath caught.

The photos were of men, women and children in the back of alleyways crumpled on the floor like paper. Blood covered their clothes from the all too obvious wound any their neck.

I looked away and controlled swallowing down the bile that formed in my throat. Tears pricked my eyes so I had to use my sleeve to keep them clean.

 _I will not throw up. Not here at least_.

"Shit." Mattie said, tossing the photos on the desk face down. "The fucker doesn't differentiate between people."

 _Ugh. Now I know why Iain was hesitating._

"Hey, after this I'll arrange some security work for a few weeks, okay?" Iain said holding his hands up. "It's just that management is on my neck saying they want the rogue vampire to stop."

"Hold on. You said it was happening for _two years_?" Mattie said. "I don't remember hearing anything about this."

" _Rogue_ vampire?" I said.

"Ah yeah… from what I read it was off and on. The deaths…" Iain passed the folder to me. "... there seems to be several batches of deaths between five to twenty at a time. Each happened with a gap of a few months." Iain turned to me, "do you remember your studies?" He continued seeing me nod. I didn't trust opening my mouth. _I need a drink_. "Rogue vampires happen rarely. We call them rogues when they're mindlessly attacking a large amount of people like this guy." Iain waved his arm over the map. "They tend to be vampires who have lost their feeder after breaking either rule eight or nine. In very rare cases they are people who were newly turned into a vampire."

 _Rule eight… do not touch your vampire in a romantic way. Rule nine... do not fall in love with your vampire._

I couldn't help it. I looked at Mattie. He was staring at the overturned photos.

 _I could be one of them. Those people in the pictures._ I swallowed. _But I survived what happened in the Bruno incident. Bruno?_

"Hey, Iain? What happened to Bruno? I didn't see him after…" _After what happened to Jess and Daniel._

"Ah… Another team got him. To be honest I'm not too sure who got him." _What does that mean? They killed him? I guess another assassination team got him…_

The question mark must have been on my face because Iain shrugged.

"Mattie, you okay?" I asked.

He hadn't said much. "Ah, yeah." Looking at Iain as he stood up he said, "I guess we should leave you to your work." I couldn't really read his face. It froze like it was set on stone. But it also moved. For just a second his eyes narrowed. Or his mouth tightened.

 _What's up with him?_

Mattie didn't talk much as we headed back to The Manor. I didn't know whether I should say something especially when he was like this.

"Alice." He whispered. I almost missed it due to being in my own little bubble. "Are you scared still?"

I know he was referring to a few hours ago. I saw Jess's death. I got around Caim's death. I saw those people in the photos and thought I needed the bathroom but didn't (but I did get that drink afterwards). There was a lot of death. But I still…

"No." I shook my head as if those bad thoughts would fall out of my ears. "Well I am a bit but I know I'll be fine."

He patted my shoulder.

 _I know I can back out._

I sat in the kitchen with the map spread out. A cup of coffee held one corner down and a bowl of fruit in another. Mattie held one down with his awful smelling microwaved blood drink in another whilst the last corner was free to curl up.

 _Kind of reminds me that he hasn't drank in a while…_

"What do you think?" I asked.

He hummed. "They're all random."

I had the files on each of the murders. All had been drained from the neck. All had been killed in a town I grew up in. More had died around the primary school I went to causing their closure until further notice.

 _My… primary school?_

I looked over at another school that wasn't too far from it. It was relatively 'safe'. No murders within a few blocks in either direction. It was the same with another.

"What is it?" Mattie said leaning on the map as if he could see what I did.

My breathing grew shallow as I looked at my college. Murders around that. The same amount of people died as those who died around the primary school.

All other murders were dotted along my childhood memories. A couple were in the neighbouring park, in dark alleys I didn't recognise and around hospitals.

 _That can't be it…_ I frowned. _Either those murders were there to lead us away or I know these places without their name._

"Alice!" Mattie pulled me out of my thoughts. "What are you thinking?"

"Were Daniel and Jess local to the area?"

He stared at me. He was reading mmt face but sighed when he couldn't make any sense of it. Shaking his head, Mattie said, "No, Daniel was from Manchester. I think Jess was from Cornwall."

 _At least that explains why. But why give a case to people who don't know the area?_

"Is there a connection they found for all these murders?" I asked.

"From what I read, there was only the stuff we know now. It's a rogue vampire and that all humans died from blood loss in the same manner. All were type A blood so at least it's not type O... " It made sense. Type O was the most common blood type. It would have made trying to find connections and links mord impossible.

"I think I might have a connection but it's very circumstantial." I explained my theory. Once I did, Mattie stood up leaving his mug on the corner of the map, to stand behind me. _He's looking in my perspective._

"I'm kind of skeptical about that. There are many people who are local to the area who have the same history."

"But look," I pointed at my primary school, Roseworth's Primary School. "The most obvious route for parents to put their children is to pick Southcentre." I brushed my finger across the map to the secondary school which was a five minute walk. "But for me and Caim this was not the case." I pointed to our secondary school. "As you know, we went to Thyme's Secondary School for Science." This school was near the school catchment area, a twenty minute drive from Roseworth's.

"There are no murders around Southcentre but there are around Thyme. Most of the people who have died were parents." Did I have to mention the children?

"There are also murders between the two as well as the college we went to. Now, how many people know the area? Go to these schools and college? We don't know how far back this should be to find out who this rogue is though..."

I breathed out. It was a mouthful to get all that out. I knew I was guessing that the vampire was a local _and_ a student of the two schools.

"Nothing was left at the crime except a piece of evidence." Frankly I was a bit surprised that Daniel and Jess didn't get it analysed first.

"On the… fourth murder there was a bit of DNA that was found. Rose tried to analyse it but there was no results. At least, the results were not in this folder."

Mattie sat back down and took a sip of his drink. "Rose doesn't have the technology to do that. It's pretty limited because Paper is supposed to be spearheading research and development."

"But even so, we could ask for the evidence, right? Ask someone else to analyse it."

 _What am I doing? I'm explaining it all wrong._

"Shit, let me start again. We should get that piece of evidence analysed, wherever it is. Since we know all the murders are done by one person?" I raised an eyebrow. He nodded. "It'll help pinpoint who it is." I sighed, "Sorry I shouldn't have said anything on the geography."

"Ah, it's fine. You're still new to this and it's expected. But here's a tip for the future: Empty your mind of preconceived thoughts and remain as neutral as you can. They will cloud your judgement."

I nodded. "So, where's that DNA kept?"

"I'd assume in our evidence garage. We might have to ask Iain for confirmation." Picking up his phone, Mattie speed dialled a number. It seemed like the guy answered on the first tone because it wasn't long before Mattie asked about the DNA. After a few minutes, he put the phone down. "Alice, this is on speakerphone now."

"Hello Alice!" Iain's voice rang clear.

"Hey!"

"So Mattie was telling me about that piece of DNA that was at one of the crime scenes? Hm… there was one, I thought I put it back after taking a look…. Oh, here!" There was some rustling as he moved some paperwork. I assumed it was paperwork anyway.

"DNA was analysed by Paper by a Dr. Chris Richardson. By my recollection he was the head guy over there, overseeing a bunch of projects. I think he's still there but since we don't know where Paper is set up… Anyway the blood matched to one of our own. It is weird that it matched us…"

"Any names?" Mattie asked.

"No, only their identity number. I'll get their name for you." There was the sound of typing heard in the background.

"Identity number?" I felt stupid or I was missing out on something each time something I didn't know popped up.

"All feeders and vampires at Rose have an identity number. It covers our names in case Rose falls and someone finds the rubble." Mattie said, reaching over to get my coffee cup to pour some in his own mug. He grinned when he saw the face I pulled.

"It's not necessary to know it." Iain added. "If you want to know yours, you can… Oh shit."

"What is it, Iain?" Mattie asked.

Iain was silent. I couldn't hear the background noise. And after an inscruitating length of silent time, he finally spoke, "Caim Darling. The DNA matches to Caim."


	15. Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"What?" I practically yelled. "How did that… you said it started happening two years ago and… Caim died before that."

 _What's happening!_

"Okay calm down, Alice." Iain said through the phone. I almost imagined him waving his hands in a defensive manner. "There obviously has to be a reasonable explanation for this."

"Iain." Mattie whispered then cleared his throat to repeat his name in a louder voice. "Iain, do you remember one of the last things I told you regarding Caim?"

"Hm… it's been so long."

"When we were in the car that held Caim's..." Mattie glanced at me. "That held Caim, do you remember."

"No, I don't."

Mattie fixed his blood red eyes on me. "That his body wasn't in the car with us."

Everyone was silent. Even the noises that you'd have in the background seemed to have suddenly quietened down. Like the fridge, the wind outside or the little static sound you get from some light bulbs.

"What happened to Caim?" I was surprised my voice didn't break. But it's been two years since he died and the raw feelings I had weren't that fresh anymore. In fact all I got was a disappointment in myself. That I didn't really know how he died or what Caim was doing before he died.

"Would you rather me explain what happened over the phone, Alice?"

"Yes."

"He was shot." A monotone voice said. Mattie's voice. "Those bastards were going to kill you if I hadn't intervened."

 _That night when there were shots at The Manor?_

"I… tried to save him." Mattie looked down at his hands. "I don't know, I just don't have the power to."

"Mattie can't seem to change a human to a vampire, Alice." Iain said simply.

"So you tried to change Caim?"

He nodded still looking at his hands.

"What happened to Caim?"

"Nothing for a few weeks. Eventually we decided to go ahead with the funeral. His body wasn't in the car though, it was more of closure. The body… was still under observation but one night it just disappeared."

" _Disappeared?"_ I stood shell-shocked staring at the phone. "How does that even work?"

I imagined Iain shaking his head when he said, "I don't know, Alice."

I was finding it hard to digest this new information. There was just so much of it in such a short period of time. So much so that I held my head in my hands so that my brain wouldn't explode or do something else like leak through my ears.

A feather light touch brushed my hand. "Would you like a break?" Mattie whispered.

I decided to answer with a question. "Are you okay?"

"Ah, yeah…" He leaned back sighing.

I looked him straight in his eyes. They were brown. The awful smelling drink was finished and so the green was slowly returning. "I don't hate you or bare any ill will about you, Mattie. I said it before."

His features softened. "Yes, 'thank you for helping Caim.'"

A cough came through the phone. "Don't forget I'm here."

I laughed purely because I would have grinned. "Yeah, uhm…" _Awkward._

"Back to the original topic? But… will you tell me how he died later?"

He stared at me for a while longer, possibly scanning my face in detail before he nodded

 _I'm glad that look disappeared._

I paused as I went to refresh my coffee.

"So Caim is a rogue vampire murdering a bunch of humans? Even if Caim was alive, he wouldn't do that." I said.

"Remember, we never recovered his body and considering what Mattie did, there is a chance that Caim did change even if Mattie can't completely change a human into a vampire."

"How… does a vampire… I mean what are the characteristics.." I struggled with the words to describe the 'completely changing human into a vampire' bit.

"I'll explain later because I honestly feel like that'll take _forever_ to even explain." I grinned. When he said 'forever', it sounded like he was moaning.

 _But Caim's DNA was found at one of the scenes. Caim's body was never found. Mattie had turned him. This all happened within the two years after his death._ My lip quivered at the enormity of the information against my brother. _Caim, you wouldn't hurt innocent people because you need blood, right? How warped is your personality now?_

 _It feels like I barely knew him…_

"I think you should rest, Alice." Iain said after a long pause. "If I find more information on what happened, I'll call you guys. Additionally if I get any reports on it happening now, I'll pass them on to you."

"Thank you, Iain." I said.

"Thanks." Mattie said before hanging up.

I leaned back on my chair. I did drink two cups of coffee so I doubt I would sleep soon. But I did need a bit more time to process all of this.

What I said about the geography was right. Caim had been to all of those areas. We went to the same primary school, secondary school and college. The murders happened in and around the campus. Caim took our dog to that park before she died. He had been to the Chinese restaurant as a birthday treat. There were other places he had been to that were marked, some I didn't know but I was surprised that there was none around The Manor, around Rose and of our parent's house. Considering the funeral route, the years he spent living with Mattie and I, there were none. Was it because Mattie would have picked up on it?

I stretched. It was almost four in the morning. Lately my days were becoming a vampire's nights but sometimes I was not used to it.

"Hey, Mattie?"

"Alice?"

"We'll find out what happened to Caim, right?"

"Of course!"

Since we were on the case, the chances of Caim coming back 'alive' were pretty slim. I wasn't sure if I would be considered breaking the rules if I had any sort of power to keep Caim alive once we found him but I knew his actions would have to be punished.

During my studies I had never heard of a rogue vampire surviving the wrath of Rose.

I went to sleep at about five in the morning and got up at three in the afternoon.

Iain didn't call. I didn't really expect him to be honest. Right now there didn't seem to be a recent murder that was somehow connected to this. This... what do I even call it? This case.

I didn't know where Mattie was when I woke either. There was just a note in the kitchen table as I made something to eat saying he had somewhere to be and would 'be back later'. I assumed it was Rose but he would have said Rose.

The map was still on the table.

 _Caim… what happened to you?_

I felt that if all of these points were connected to his past then he would be hiding in a building that held a lot of memories. Which would be the places that didn't have any murders around.

Or he could be in a new place just to throw us off the track.

Just as I was pouring the water for my tea, my phone rang. It was Iain. _Not that I have many contacts in the first place._

"Iain?"

"Alice, I need you here asap! Come to the alleyway of The Blue Moon, right now!"

"But where's Mattie?"

"I sent him for a job. We might have a lead on this case."

"Already?" _That's amazing!_

"Yes." I heard some mumbling in the background as someone talked to him, "I'll let you through."

"Through?"

"Something's happened. I think it's better if you see for yourself. See you there."

It was a rainy day. Puddles formed on the ground as cars splashed passers by. As usual there wasn't that many people but those that were out, wore dark jackets coupled with dark umbrellas.

I ran with my head pulled under my hood since it was only a ten minute walk. The Blue Moon was a park, named after the cafe that sat opposite. The alleyway was next to the cafe. It wasn't that big and as I approached, it looked smaller. Blue and red light pierced the monotone sky. The police were here. Two cars flashed in front of it. A van was parked a few cars down the road. As I slowed to a walk, I saw a bunch of people crowded before the yellow tape. I slowed to a walk. Once I pushed to the front of the line, I heard someone crying hysterically.

 _No…_

I assumed the crying came from the small group just in the corner of the alleyway. They had their backs toward the crowd.

"Iain?" I called.

It was dark and I couldn't make out any of their faces but one of them heard me and waved. He talked to one of those people there and after a few minutes, called me over. "Lucy! Come over here!"

I huddled under the yellow tape. Every step felt like I was making mini earthquakes somewhere. Iain came to meet me in the middle. "There was an attempted attack on this woman. She gave us a description of the guy and Mattie is on his trail."

"R-Really?" I was shocked. Having just started this case yesterday and we might have a lead.

 _Coincidence?_ The thought passed my mind. I didn't know what Mattie would do if he found Caim. Would he kill him because it's his job to? Would he bring Caim into Rose for experimental purposes? That idea didn't really… I wasn't really a fan of that.

The policemen started to disperse. I could see the woman who was attacked. She had been grazed on her cheek by something sharp. It drew blood. She was just shaken up by the encounter, nothing else seemed off about her. At least that was all I could tell.

She was taken to the hospital. Iain and I saw her off.

"Iain? What do you think David would do?" I asked as I lost the ambulance in the distance.

"I'm not sure, Lucy. He could be still grieving or has regrets he won't say."

Despite being open to Mattie, he still may hold some things?

At midnight Mattie arrived back at The Manor. For a vampire of the night he looked worn out, his head looked like it was hung down and he couldn't seem to meet the concerned eyes of Iain and I.

"Where the fuck were you?" Iain cried. "I know I gave you a job but that doesn't mean you ignore us for shit long!" Iain had called him several times all of which had been either ignored or it went to voicemail.

 _Something is wrong._ Mattie leaned on the wall next to the door, his face still directed on the floor. From what little I could see, it was frozen. _Something is very wrong if I have to analyse his face for anything. Wait… Was it really Caim?_

"Sorry, Iain. I couldn't give you an update because I was busy."

"Well he's here now so it's okay then?" I said trying to lighten the mood. "Mattie?"

He shook his head. "Just someone who wanted to take advantage of a woman."

"What the fuck." Iain sighed. "In daylight too."

Even though it was Mattie who said it, I had this strange feeling about it. _It feels like it was a lie._

Looking at that stone face told me nothing. _I shouldn't doubt him but…_

"Back to square one." Iain said walking to the table where the map was still laid out. I followed him too.

"Are we waiting till a murder happens?" I asked Iain as he took a beer from the fridge.

"I suppose we have to. Ideally I'd like a lead without a death…"

Even I could tell that was an almost impossible task. Without a clear target or destination, we wouldn't know where to look.

Mattie was still leaning on the wall. He only moved when he saw me looking at him. _Smiling like nothing happened._

"But Caim…"

"I checked on the files we had. There wasn't many because he had died and Rose is setup to delete personal and professional files from the moment an announcement is made. It lasts upto a week, sometimes more depending on how large the files are." He shrugged sitting down on the table. "Almost all of it was irrelevant and-" He stared daggers at Mattie on the opposite side, "if you're not going to tell us what the fuck happened, I'm putting you on home duty."

 _Home… duty?_

Mattie flinched. "Okay, okay."

 _It must be bad if it got that reaction…_

"I followed the guy. He went passed Whitechapel and Winchester and headed out into the outskirts. I didn't follow him any further but I know there was an abandoned family barn there."

I nodded. Whitechapel and Winchester were two blocks of housing where the city's border ended. A step further and you were in the neighbouring city. The scenery changed to fields of long grass. I only knew because our dad used to drive us to school. I remember seeing the grass as it waved through the windows of empty houses wondering what it was like to play over there.

"But why did you cover that up?" I asked Mattie.

"Because I got a good look at the guy and that guy was Caim."

Silence ticked by as no-one said a word about this and what Mattie tried to hide. A million thoughts ran across my mind, some too fast to even comprehend. There was that possibility that he was alive but I never thought… that it was true. Was it true that Mattie couldn't fully change someone? But he saw my brother after his death.

 _No. Don't go down this path._ My reasonable side said. _Mattie and Iain are the only ones who you should trust._

 _But…_

Across the table Mattie struggled with himself. Flashes of anger, pain and confusion lit his face. Sometimes those eyes would fall on me and they would give me a small smile, but they looked away just as fast and it was back to flashing his raw emotions again.

 _Mattie is still in love with my brother._ I inwardly sighed.

Iain was chewing his cheek with a determined expression.

"I guess…" I muttered. It was meant to be a thought but I said it outloud accidently. Their heads snapped up to look at me. "It's too late to say another theory, then?"

"Why don't you just say it?" Iain said. The words weren't harsh. More like 'I'm-tired-and-just-want-to-go-home' tone.

"Well…" I looked at them, trying to catch their eyes despite the evidence against Caim. "Have you thought that the DNA evidence might have been planted there?" I pointed at the air as another question popped up. "Also I thought you guys have known Caim for a long time? So why aren't you supporting him?"

"Well it is possible to just frame someone. But according to the good Doctor, it was saliva in and around the wound on the neck. It's pretty hard to cover your own saliva if you were planning on using someone else's. As for your other question…" Iain trailed off.

"There's not that much on it." Mattie said. He had perked up a bit. "In my lifetime I haven't encountered another vampire with the same… _ability_ as my own. It's entirely possible that I could be the only person with this…" He shook his head. "I don't know what _this_ even is. Does Caim know what he is? Does Caim retain any memory of before he changed? Why didn't he come to us when he was alive?" He groaned.

 _Mattie... feels a lot of worry about Caim. I daresay all of his thoughts are about him now that my brother is kind of alive. Why does he feel so much… regret? No. Where did the need to be forgiven even start? The moment Mattie bit into his neck?_

"It makes sense if it was Caim too." Iain whispered. "The murders could be seen as a regular feeding and with it being on this scale, I doubt the blood would have tasted good."

 _Ah, foul tasting blood would mean more hunting._

"Alright!" Iain got up to stretch. "I think we can call it quits for today."

 _Eh?_ When I looked out of the window, the sky was mixed with red and orange. It had been almost six hours since Mattie had arrived back from stalking.

"I suggest both of you get some rest. At noon I want that barn searched discreetly."

Noon was when newer vampires would be slowest. It's only when they lived a while as a vampire, they grow accustomed to the brightness. Just like Mattie.

"I'm heading back to Rose." Iain said yawning. "Update me when you're at that barn."

Mattie and I both said our goodbyes for the day. I went upstairs to my room to sleep because I felt that if I slept on the sofa or any other comfortable place, Mattie might watch me sleep.

 _Not sure why I even feel like that. He's never done that to me before. At least I think he hasn't…_


	16. Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Noon was bright and busy. After the rain of last night, it gave a fresher feel to the day. For some reason I felt more inspired and was looking forward to exploring the barn.

We were in our rented Mercedes again with Mattie driving in those sunglasses. We had left at eleven thirty to get there but due to the lunchtime traffic, was stuck waiting.

I hadn't said much to Mattie. To be honest I didn't even know what to say. Trying to cover up what he did was a huge problem.

I sighed. I doubt I'll get a decent answer I could accept even if I asked.

"Alice?"

I looked at him. I didn't really expect to make a conversation with him. "Yes?"

"About last night… I know what I did was bad, selfish and any other related words you can think of, and I know I can't just say any excuse."

 _Damn, is he a mind reader?_

"All I can think of is that I did it on instinct. I wanted to help Caim no matter what so when he died after I gave my blood…" The steering wheel squealed under the pressure of his hands. "I just couldn't believe it. I guess you could say that I still regret that decision even after all this time."

"So you talked to my brother?"

"No, all I did was follow."

"But you spent so much time…"

"He's there. At the barn. I know that for sure."

I wouldn't say that the attempted attack on the woman was good, but to get a lead on this case… that needed pure luck.

Despite the short burst of confidence, Mattie's hands were restless on the wheel so I waited until he was ready to continue.

"There's also something else I have to tell you." Mattie took a deep breath. "I think you should know in detail how and why Caim died."

I swallowed. Suddenly my throat got really dry. "Ah, you don't have to push yourself-"

"Only if you want to, Alice." He looked at me briefly, concern etched like stone on his face. The concern I could deal with but the eyes…

Nothing ran through my mind. Was that bad? I looked at Professional Alice for help but she didn't make an appearance.

 _He's trying to tie up loose ends, right? That means at the barn… It's actually my brother there at the barn…_

The feelings I had for him, the worry, pain, confusion… they had all formed a huge wad of feelings inside me that I couldn't tell which one was more prominent. Could this ease it?

I know. I know that if it was actually Caim hiding out in that barn, the pain will open up again. It will be raw.

I took a shuddering breath looking out at the road in front of us. "Tell me."

 _Seven shots were fired before he started running. That's what happens when you're partnered up with a human. Their reactions were slow but fast enough to dodge every single one._

 _Or it was just sheer luck._

 _The feeling of dread I had when taking this case spread everywhere from my stomach but still I had to plow on to protect him, the person who was dearest to me. The person who was running for dear life away from me as I did what I was best at: To cover for him._

" _Get to point A!" I yelled as I jumped in front of them, shielding Caim's back from the shower of bullets praying to no one in particular that he didn't get hit. The message was for Caim. Point A was our start point in this God forsaken mission that was probably doomed from the start._

 _I heard his breathing ragged in the mic as I faced the twelve men._

 _Armoured in bulletproof vests, helmets, covered in camouflage material and weilding guns the size of each other's muscled thighs, they could have taken out the most elusive human criminals. There was a vibe between them I picked up on that I knew they knew they were successful, skilled and were known for it. They lived to maintain that stature._

" _Vampire!" One of them called out to me. "Step aside!"_

 _I stood my ground. These guys were all human. I could see the veins in their necks, how fast they were pumping the disgusting, foul smelling blood around their system._

 _I had to stay to buy time for Caim._ Was it a good time to buy time? I could have supported him more if I was by his si-

 _A bullet flew past my head. I did not move._

" _Move!"_

 _Just as the warning was yelled, I heard Caim's voice through my mic, "Fuck sake!"_

" _Caim!" I cried concentrating on the noises coming from behind me as the barrage of twelve came at me. They shot with their guns but most of them missed me. The ones that hit, didn't hurt at all._

 _I used my hand like a dagger. I pierced them in their stomachs. I slashed it against their necks so hard the force broke their necks. In no time my right hand was covered in the red stuff. Spray had blanketed everywhere. I stood in a bloodbath._

" _Caim, I'm coming!"_

 _I started running without hesitation back to point A. I remembered it, I was a vampire. Caim had to too._

 _But doubt plagued my mind. Humans can make stupid mistakes sometimes. Did he get lost?_

 _Point A was a huge square room of concrete similar to the room we were both in just now. There was a walkway around the walls and to get there, you needed to climb the ladders on the supporting pillars. Right now there were twenty people all pointing their guns straight at the person frozen in front of me: Caim._

 _He turned around to face me just as the first shot fired. And hit._

Fuck! " _Caim!" I yelled rushing forward to catch him._

 _But the smell of his spilt blood was the first thing that hit_ me. _It hit straight to my groin. Pleasure soared through me. I had to forcibly stop myself from taking more of his blood for my personal use by biting my hand, my own blood spilling._

 _The second thing I felt was anger. It was not Caim's fault that his cover was blown - our cover was blown. Our inside man should have been killed but God knows where the fuck he was now._

 _I tensed bearing my bloody fangs._

" _Mattie!" Caim shouted._

 _But it was too late. I ran at the pillars, jumping on them to reach the walkway. I grabbed the railing and hauled myself up, kicking the nearest unfortunate shooter as I descended on it. He didn't see it coming. He died the second my feet connected with his torso, the force was that great._

 _They were all human. Their blood was foul, clogging my nose as I spilt it, painting the whole room red. Body parts flew, were broken, screams ran through my ears, incoherent words gurling. Pretty soon there was only silence._

 _It was only broken by Caim's groan._

" _Shit!" I breathed, jumping down to take Caim in my arms. He was shot in the shoulder and in the stomach. Without another word I sank to the ground taking my jacket off in the process and wrapped it tightly around his waist. There was a part of my mind that whispered he had lost too much blood, that he wasn't going to make it despite my speed._

" _Mattie, wait!" Caim protested, struggling with the tightness of the jacket but I slapped his hands away._

" _Stop it!" I cried out, panic settling in. His blood on me, in my nose, my head… It was making me nervous. Can't he understand I was trying to help?_

" _Mattie." He sighed as his head rolled back. It was that simple action that made me take notice of him. "It's okay."_

 _He knew it. Caim knew he wasn't going to make it._

What do I do?

 _But then something clicked inside me. I'm a vampire, right? I can save him._

 _Caim read my expression. "No, Mattie, stay away from it…. No, Mattie! Shit!"_

 _Fangs drove themselves into his neck. I drank him greedily even as Caim hit, crawled or pushed as hard as he could. His blood was like the finest wine, every drop that I swallowed I desperately wanted more of. Pleasure drove itself further into his neck. I was turned on immensely, so glad that I was sharing this moment with-_

 _I released Caim who had collapsed. I could still feel a flicker of his pulse so I put the hand I bit into his mouth. I saw the drops of blood fall._

Now if it works, he'll eventually become a vampire. He won't have to leave me.

 _I sighed. Relief washed over me. But we were not out of the woods left. I had to get safe to get to Rose. I had to check to see those bastards did not lay a fucking finger on Alice. If they did…_

 _Caim was safe at Rose. Iain was keeping an eye on his condition. I was nearly home in the car pushing the speed limit, praying that Alice was still living and breathing._

 _But Caim's pulse was getting weaker and his face had turned so pale._

 _As I got out I could hear them. Five people sneaking against the hedges and fences, each step a step closer to her. There wasn't any moonlight, they had different smells, some were sweating more so than others. Strangely some had a cologne or deodorant. Rookies._

 _But one was different, the sixth was a vampire. He had the air of bloodlust._

 _I had grabbed Caim's Alpha and Beta. He wouldn't be able to use them in his condition. Iain didn't know. He didn't need to._

 _As I crouched I saw one guy test the door. It was open because who would want to enter a vampire's house uninvited?_

 _The rest of the men rounded the front door. I took two quick shots, instantly killing off two. The rest including the vampire looked back at me._

 _I gripped the handle of the gun. I will protect Alice._

I guess he wanted to finish the end of that by adding that scene from long ago.

There was a moment of silence as I digested this. _Caim…_

It was bloody and violent and you had no control over how you want to die.

And my brother's death was also what I might go through being an advanced feeder.

"Alice, say something, please." Mattie whispered, begging.

"I-I don't know what to say." I had to cough to clear the way my voice broke then. _I'm scared._

"You still don't hate me?"

 _Can you hate someone you love?_

"I still don't. You had to do what you had to do. But-" I looked at his profile as he drove. It was frozen like a mask he wore to hide his tormenting feelings inside. "If I get hit and I wouldn't survive, please leave me, Mattie."

Pained eyes were dragged off the road. After a short hesitation Mattie replied, "Okay."

Forty minutes later we arrived. I called Iain to update him who replied that he wanted to be kept in the loop.

 _Since we're dealing with a kind of vampire… Rule number two comes into effect. Man, that restricts my movement._

The barn was how I imagined it. Although the painting was chipped badly, you could tell it was originally red with what used to be white now yellowed railings in that half teardrop shape that anyone would imagine. Heck, it even came with that window on the first floor and the double doors for an entrance.

Beside it was a stack of a few hay bales that blew lazily in the wind.

There was another barn not too far from this one in the same state, if not, a little bit better.

Mattie pointed at it. "I'll check that one."

I nodded patting Alpha and Beta who hung at my sides. _Rule number three: Never leave Rose without Alpha and Beta._

The double doors squealed when I opened it. Once the gap was large enough, I slid in.

It was dark. It had that smell of stale air that hung from the arches above my head, between the cracks and between the creaks. From what I could see before me, there was a first floor which ended in the middle of the barn without a railing. The first floor was stuffed with hay bales whereas the ground floor just had stables for animals with a wide pathway in the centre. A ladder blocked the pathway.

But on the ground something was highlighted by the light coming in through the door I hadn't fully closed yet. Blood. There was a trail here. _Shit. I doubt Mattie would be able to hear me from there._

I knelt down to touch a small patch as my other hand grabbed Beta. The blood was wet.

It lead to the ladder. Drops of blood had fallen and had landed on the ladder, a massive pool of it just behind it.

 _Someone went up a ladder bleeding this heavily?_

I should have left while nothing had shown itself. I should have followed rule three because I have so many things I wanted to do.

But I didn't. I scaled the ladder with one hand.

I stood. On the first floor there was a small window which thankfully lit up the place. Four supporting pillars stood near each corner and gave two narrow pathways along the walls. There was barely anything there. The hay bales formed more of a barrier or something for privacy. They hid this open area. But strangely enough it had a blanket that laid right where the light hit the floor. A small hay bale sat next to it as if it was acting like a pillow. It was covered in so much blood that when I came closer, it had soaked the wooden floor around it.

I had to wipe the hand that held Beta on my trousers.

"So, you found me?"

 _Shit! I'm dead!_

As I turned, a man was walking toward me. For every step he took, I took a step back. He stopped just before the light.

My breath caught.

I almost dropped Beta.

I almost ran at him for a hug.

I felt immensely saddened, regretful and lonely all at the same time.

 _Caim_.

He was scruffy. Obviously. His hair was absolutely greasy and it looked like he had worn the same clothes for quite some time. He also had a five o'clock. And he stank.

But most importantly he had those red eyes. I had never came into contact with a rogue vampire but from my studies, they permanently had blood stained eyes.

"C-Caim!" I didn't know what else to say.

He smiled. "Hey, Alice."

 _He's alive! My brother is alive! And he knows who I am!_

Another side of me emerged: Professional Alice. She only came when she needed to and by God was she needed.

 _Be careful. It may be Caim but he's still a vampire and a rogue one at that._

"I can see you thinking. Your mind is like an open book." He said. "Right now you're thinking 'should I drop Beta?' In which case I won't answer that for you." I didn't listen to him and aimed a shaking hand holding Beta at him.

 _It's only logical that he'll think that. And for heaven's sake slow your heartbeat!_ Professional Alice cried out.

 _Why does it feel so weird talking to my brother? It's like I forgot after these two years._

"Caim… what are you saying?" I frowned. This scene felt like something out of a movie. My brother wasn't a bad guy! He taught me a lot of things especially when we were no longer in contact with our parents.

"I'm saying you should leave before anything bad happens. You're breaking rule three."

My grip on Beta tightened. I had to use both arms to steady my aim.

 _He'll end up just like Daniel._

 _Why am I pointing a gun at my brother?_

Professional Alice chimed in, _because he indicated rule three meaning he indicated he wants something bad to happen to you. Don't think for one moment that he won't attack you just because you're his younger sister. I may not be well versed on what happens when a vampire has red eyes, but I downright know it's nothing good._

He didn't even react when he saw the barrel of the gun pointed straight at him. Almost like he was expecting it.

"Where's Mattie?"

"I don't know."

"Come on. Rose would have recorded my death and replaced me with you. They wouldn't allow a new advanced out on the field on her own, especially when it involves a vampire."

"I'm telling you the truth, Caim. I don't know." _Please, please, please Mattie come now. I'm buying you time so you can have the element of surprise. It can't take you so long to check out the other barn! Didn't you smell the amount of blood here?_

His eyes narrowed then he stepped forward. Again I stepped back to maintain the little distance between us. Not that it mattered with it being a vampire I'm up against. A portion of Caim was now in the noon sunlight.

"What were you thinking about?" Caim asked.

 _This isn't my brother. Caim wouldn't be so aggressive with me…_

I wanted to say 'nothing'. I really did. But then that wouldn't have gone anywhere.

"For someone who said I'm an open book, you sure know how to read my face."

The next second was a blur. There was an overwhelming force on my throat as I was pushed back until I hit one of the pillars. My breath rushed out of me as I hit the pillar, automatically clawing at the hand that kept me off the ground. Somewhere in that I dropped Beta. _No!_

"Mattie?" Caim said leaning closer.

All I could do was concentrate on staying conscious. If I passed out now who knows what will happen to me during the time I lost it and till I woke up.

 _Not to mention getting air in your lungs._ Professional Alice said.

"Mattie."

The hold on my throat let up a bit. I took a huge gasp of air until the invading unconsciousness was kept away for just a while longer.

"What… about him?" I breathed.

"You're in love with him." He said it without any reaction in the most monotoned voice I have ever heard.

"Rule… eight… nine." I whispered with the air I could manage to gulp down.

"Who fucking cares!" He shouted. I almost expected his grip would have tightened and killed me there but it didn't. "You're my sister who's..." Caim started throwing me against the pillar between every word, "In. Love. With. My. Mattie!" On the last, he released his grip and I collapsed gasping and coughing loudly for air. I hurt all over like an elephant had stepped all over me. I felt like hell.

 _How the fuck did he know?_

Professional Alice shrugged her shoulders. She held two hands on my shoulders. _Get up. Get up and find Beta. Use Alpha to slow him down._

 _He would have attacked me the moment I raised Alpha to aim._

"I can't believe you." Caim was pacing around the room. "I supported you and what did you do? Take the only thing that was mine away."

 _Why are we even talking about Mattie? Where the fuck is he more like!_

"You're dead!" I screamed. "You're dead and despite visiting or whatever, you committed murders!" I panted looking at him with pleading eyes. "I never took him away. He was always thinking of you."

 _I didn't even confess yet._

Caim shot me a look saying that was the wrong thing to say.

 _He's so fixated on Mattie. It's like talking to a brick wall._

 _Maybe that was what Mattie was alluding to. Something that went wrong while he was changing him._ Professional Alice said as she stared at Caim. _There's not much we can do if he won't listen. There's also the job at hand._

"Caim." I said. I wanted the words out nice, slow and clear. "There's nothing I did that would have made Mattie love you any less. I also doubt that if I had even confessed to him during those two years you were dead, he would have accepted my feelings for him. He would have seen me as a rebound..." _Which is the last thing I needed!_ "and that is the last thing I want to do." He gave me the same look. _Shit. I'm dead._

I grabbed Alpha and aimed it at him.

But the next moment was a shock. He jumped in the air. I expected him to run at me since he had his vampiric speed. But gravity slowed him down and I shot him twice in the chest, once in the leg. He fell down in a poof of dust in a kneeling position.

After shooting, I took the chance of scanning the room for Beta. It had slid near the wall in the scuffle. I hurried and got it, turning around to see a running Caim recovered quickly to ram me into the wall again. This time I didn't let go of Alpha and Beta. This time I held on even though my body cried out against the pain and the involuntary movements.

"Alice! You shot me!" He was aghast. "You fucking shot me!"

I found my legs, putting and pushing off the wall with all my might and fell straddling Caim.

Aimed Beta under his chin before he could do anything else. "Everything that I've said so far is the truth and if you can't accept that then there's absolutely no need for you to exist." I hissed. I cocked the gun and just as I was blowing a hole in the thick head that was Caim Darling, Mattie's voice screamed out, "don't shoot!"


	17. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

There was always that sense of silence that followed something big. As if time was allowing you to fully absorb what had happened and to come up with a valid excuse.

I saw it during my years at Rose and I can pinpoint each one out: After Harding's death, Daniel and Jess's death, when Mattie first told me about Caim being dead.

It happened again after I shot him. _Shot my brother._ While the dust collapsed under me and blew in the soft breeze that the open double doors allowed in, almost like they were scattering Caim's ashes themselves.

It plastered on Mattie's face of absolute shock, confusion, _love_ amongst the hate.

I knew it was on mine as I stared at the place where Caim's head would have been.

"What have you done?" Mattie said. He was desperately trying to remove all traces of emotion in his voice. But I heard the tone. There was no way in Hell I would have forgotten or even missed it.

"He attacked me first." I said it as a matter of fact - which it was - but it was the wrong thing to say.

"Iain wanted him alive!"

"I would have fucking died! Didn't you hear the shots? Why didn't you come earlier?" I screamed. "Rose wouldn't have wanted a rogue vampire in their midst."

"Rose wouldn't have wanted the only-" He failed to find the words. He was really angry with me. "-Caim to die!"

"No." I stood up, dropping Alpha and Beta. I pointed a shaking finger at him. " _You_ didn't want him to die. Rule eight and nine?"

 _No!_ Professional Alice screamed as she did the unprofessional thing of pulling her hair. _If you mention that, there's no going back!_

I continued anyway. "You should have never let your feelings into a case. It was a mistake on Iain's part to assign us this case knowing the suspect was close to both of us."

"And what about yours?" He hissed. "They were on your face for years."

 _What?_

"I have no idea what you're on about, Mattie." I said. But I knew he knew. Just like Iain picked up on it. I don't know how.

He was staring daggers at me as he stepped closer. Unlike Caim, I didn't try to keep the distance between us. Those eyes that had that blood red colour held me in place.

I tried to regulate my breathing knowing in the past I couldn't.

He stopped in front of me with about two steps or so distance.

"Alice." He said. "I'm letting you go. Find another partner. I never want to see your face."

I blinked. My legs gave way as I collapsed on the ground. My breathing which I tried so hard to control came in short bursts. It felt like I couldn't even get enough air in my lungs.

 _Shit! And it's my fault._

I woke up bleary eyed. Noises surrounded me but they were too distorted that I couldn't make out what they were. Everything was bright and just way too white.

Suddenly a shadow popped into view saying something. It was facing me. The only thing I could do was shake my head as the darkness took over me.

A breath entered my lungs noisily as if they had been devoid of oxygen for a while.

My eyes fluttered open but quickly shut again as white light scored them. They needed to adjust yet.

"Hey, are you okay?"

A woman's voice. Who? I barely knew any women in Rose.

There was a light touch on my wrist prompting me to peek through half closed eyes. I had to blink a few more times though.

Another deep breath rushed through into my lungs.

"Lucy?"

A vampire was staring right back at me. Someone I didn't know. But she looked at me with kind eyes and a gentle smile which put my fears to rest.

I opened my mouth to reply but instead I coughed harshly. Pain seared right through me like a knife straight down my back.

"Hey, hey. Slow down," she said raising me on the bed with a control to give me a sip of water. I winced as it went down.

"What- Where am I?" My voice croaked out.

"You're in the city hospital."

 _What?_

Immediately I started getting up. I can't be here. I can't be here because I'm with Rose.

"Lucy, don't-" The nurse put her hands on my shoulders to gently push me back on the bed. I had to ignore the shot of pain that overloaded my senses as she did so.

But I froze as a thought came up. She took the chance to put me right in the bed including straightening the covers.

 _Am I still with Rose? After what happened?_

Images of the attacks came to mind. How close was I to death fighting another vampire - _two_ fucking vampires! The whole reason for the 'Don't physically fight another vampire' rule. Against them humans were just like cattle.

 _How the fuck did I even survive?_

"You know," the nurse said, "there's someone waiting for you to wake up. He's in the hallway. Do you want me to let him in for you?"

I sighed running a hand over my damp forehead. It had broke out in a sweat with the pain.

"Yeah."

"I'll get you some painkillers in the meantime." As she left, leaving the door open for my visitor, she nodded the approval to the man in question.

Iain.

It looked like he had been there for a few weeks. His brown hair was messed up and he hadn't shaved - there were the beginnings of a five o'clock shadow. I wasn't used to it. He wore a white shirt though untucked and a pair of jeans.

I coughed ignoring the pain again to greet him.

Iain sat down on the stool next to my bed. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Terrible." I sighed. "I hurt absolutely everywhere." _Not to mention the emotional pain stabbing my heart a million times._

Iain sighed. "It's amazing you even survived two vampires. Management is at my neck _again_ wanting to know the details and why you needed to use part of Rose above ground."

"Above ground? You didn't tell them about what happened yet?" _I feel like I've been sleeping since forever ago!_

"This hospital is part of Rose but it's rarely used. That nurse who's taking care of you is also part of Rose." Iain shrugged, "I guess it's for emergency or just in case reasons."

I sagged on the bed. "I don't feel amazing. How long have I been here? What happened afterward in the barn?"

"About a week. You gave me quite a shock. Mattie called me to say the case was done and that he wanted a change in feeder." _Yay._ "By then I was already heading to the barn."

I frowned. Why was he going there too?

"His tone of voice was what got me and I'm pretty glad I acted on it. Christ, Alice you were drowning in a pool of blood unconscious. Nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"Ah, we'll get into all the details later. Just sleep, okay? Get better. I'll deal with shitty management." Iain stood ruffling my hair a bit in goodbye for now.

"You're not wrong, Alice."

I sat in Iain's office without Mattie next to me. I felt empty and alone without knowing he was there.

We were going through possible partners for me. Frankly I didn't want to find another partner. Can't I just stay around Rose without one?

A month had passed since the _real_ death of Caim. They had done a DNA test on the ashes. No one had seen Mattie.

I also hadn't received any sort of punishment or garnish since shooting Caim.

 _But shooting Caim… my brother is just…_

"You agree with me?" I said shocked.

"Of course." Iain had been pacing the room. He stopped to look at me. "You did your job."

I thought he would side with Mattie.

I sighed. "Why was Caim so fixated on Mattie?" I had told my version of events to the team. Actually it's the only set of events until Mattie showed up.

"Hm. My guess would be that it was the last emotion Caim had before he died. Maybe Mattie just carried it on."

"Oh." I felt kind of down when I heard that. I never told Caim how I felt about Mattie so for him to realise them in that way is just…

"Hey, don't be upset. You know Mattie's probably in one of his moods and that was one of those 'in the moment' type things." Iain decided to sit down on his chair, leaning so far back I thought he might just topple over.

"Yet you're looking for a new partner for me almost immediately." I paused. "Has he done something like this before?"

"No." Iain said sighing.

"Glad I'm his first then." I stared.

 _And there you go with the virgin innuendo._

"Well now that the 'new partner' thing is said out loud, I might have found someone." There were some clicks on the screen as Iain did something on the computer. "Yes, his name is Sam Hunt." Iain waved a hand for me to move around look at the screen too. On it was an image of a guy with sharp features with thick black hair and brown eyes. Beside his image there was a fact file detailing his weight, height, blood preference (I assume this was what he liked to drink), any other associated names. There was more but that was what was shown without having to scroll down.

"He's a vampire who was turned a good few hundred years ago - one of the unspoken reliables actually." Iain continued.

"Reliables?"

"Yeah… among us managers we can tell who is a bit shady, who's honest etc… yeah I know." Iain added as he took one look on my face which said 'you can actually read a vampire's face without knowing a bit about him?' It might also have said 'what the fuck, I struggle reading Mattie's face after spending all this time with him.'

"So… yeah, a reliable vampire."

"When am I meeting him?" I asked.

"Right now he's in a case. It'll probably be early next week, I'll update you on the details for that when I get new info as usual."

I nodded. I can survive a few more days in The Manor, right? I can avoid him, right?

"Hey, Alice?" His tone changed like he was nervous about saying what he wanted to say. "Why don't you like… stay round my place for a bit while this thing with Mattie blows over?"

 _He's inviting me?_

"What?"

"You know, with this thing I don't think seeing Mattie now would make things easier so…"

"There are no safe houses?" Iain shook his head. "Well sure I guess."

Iain lived in a large detached house just outside of the city. Beige coloured with its roof in a nice burgundy colour complete with a porch, a patch of grass for a small garden in front, it was an easy sight to look at.

He also had a large brick driveway that could hold two or three cars by the look of it, I don't know.

I stood in front of the black Mercedes we arrived in. Iain was halfway in the boot.

To be honest, I'm not sure what to even think. I still classed Iain as my… manager… not as someone who I could consider as my… friend? I don't know, the thought is a bit foreign to a girl who didn't really have a job before this and with the idea of mentor and student relationship.

"Don't worry about anything okay, Alice." He said finally leaning out. "I'll talk to Mattie- Well not _talk_ but just leave him some messages because we both know he's not going to reply from God knows wherever he is. I won't say exactly where you're staying, of course."

"Ah, yeah, thanks."

"There's also the matter of meeting Katy, but that should be fine." Iain winked at me. _Iain winked at me._ "You're already accustomed to new people."

"What are you on about?" I said.

Katy, it turned out, was Iain's wife: A vampire with blond hair, blue eyes, petite with a lovely smile.

I was kind of shocked when I saw she was a vampire though. I never thought about marriage between a vampire and human was possible due to the different societies and the very obvious lifespan, but seeing Iain with a genuine smile lighting up a face that was run down severely with work… It was refreshing to know that there was someone there at the end of a day to make everything better. I suppose it was even more so with this kind of job.

"Lucy! How lovely to meet you!" Katy gave me a bear hug. Behind her I stared at Iain feeling a bit awkward. "I've heard you're in a tight spot at the moment. But it's okay you can bunk with us."

"I'm really sorry." I mumbled as she held me at arm's length looking at me with those blue eyes.

She smiled warmly, "Don't you worry. If you don't mind there's a spare guest room on the second floor you can make yourself comfortable. I'll have your stuff there in a few minutes."

 _A few minu- Oh right, vampire._

I hadn't packed a lot despite Iain's assurance on being welcomed into his household. I mainly had my go bag.

"It's only this," I held up my bag.

Katy pulled a face like she put a whole lemon in her mouth. Iain laughed saying his wife was the queen of keeping things and that I would be able to understand once I finally got in the house.

I sat around a table that was really for five. I hadn't had dinner with a friend - or manager - since living at home all those years ago so I was feeling a bit nervous.

Iain was cooking whilst Katy was setting up the table. Vampires, Iain was telling me, did not know how to cook unless they were exposed to human society long enough. He said he would be surprised if there was a vampire working at Rose who didn't know how to.

Katy was teasing him as he said this, making a puppet with her hand, suggesting he went on and on about it. I smiled. This atmosphere was such a change I found myself wondering if I missed my parents. I did in the few months after we left but they didn't make any attempt at getting Caim and I back. It got bad at special occasions.

Iain turned around in the kitchen looking over the breakfast bar that separated it from the dining room. Holding a plate of lasagna with oven gloves, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Smells good, Iain."

"It's the Wright special."

"So, he says." Katy said before leaning down to whisper, "In reality it's a recipe from the internet."

Iain placed the steaming dish at the centre and laid a ladle on top. "She wasn't supposed to know that, Katy!" He prodded his wife's sides with a stubby gloved hand.

I laughed. I felt awkward despite the welcome.

There wasn't that much to note at Iain's place. It was a bit weird having to adjust to a 'normal' lifestyle. Although I wasn't totally new to it. This was so similar to my life before Rose was a change that was… I didn't know how to finish that sentence. I had this feeling at the base of my stomach that was in between being nervous and something very unwelcome. Maybe I had gotten used to my life with Mattie at The Manor.

I guess Iain wanted me to take some time away from the thoughts of Mattie and the current state of my 'career' because it was a week after I had arrived here, sat on a small balcony at the back of the house where he said, "Sam's finished his case."

 _Who's Sam? Wait, is he the vampire I was supposed to be with?_

"Oh." A silence crossed my mind briefly before it worked again. "Does Mattie know?"

Iain leaned on the railing beside me. There was only enough room for two.

"I'm going to message him after telling you."

"Is he getting a partner?"

"Eventually."

"What do you mean?"

He shuffled, scratching the railing as if there was something there. "Advanced feeders have the priority in this scenario. Because your only main aim is to aid a vampire, it becomes void when you break up for any reason. If we can't find you employment with another vampire then we'd have to let you go." He had said all this gazing out over the back garden. It was only now he looked at me to emphasize his point, "How can I put this? Alice, this job… It will be your only job."

 _Death? What? Unemployment for the rest of my life? Either one isn't good and I don't plan on losing this just because of some moody ass vampire couldn't keep his emotions to himself._

 _But I didn't know this small print._

"What's he like? Sam, I mean." I frowned because my brain didn't seem to realise we were talking about Mattie in my head and Sam outloud.

"Sam's really… professional. He's one of those guys who does everything by the book."

 _Way to rub salt in the wound._

"However he's also flexible." Iain continued.

"Which is why he is reliable?" I shrugged.

"Kind of." He grinned. "But don't let his professionalism get you. He is a really great guy. He's going to be at the office tomorrow morning. It would be great if you were there, Alice."

"Sure."

A silence came down on us with only the breeze stealing the sound of our breathing away.

 _I wonder what Mattie is doing right now. Is he like me? Does he not care?_

"Hey, Iain?"

"Alice?"

"Mattie said my emotions were on my face." Well that wasn't really a question but I saw Iain nodding so I decided not to add on to it.

"Yeah… you see, your eyes dilate when you see someone you're interested in."

 _Oh._

"Alice." I guess it was Iain's turn to say something. "You shouldn't really beat yourself up. I've been in this job for so long that I know how some people react. I know this because in this job, you lose a lot of people - a lot of great people for that matter. Brave for seeking Rose and braver yet to follow through to be employed by us. The death comes with the job. You only get to know it after your experiences." I was going to say all my 'experiences' were from him so he was really shaping what I know, but he held up his hand. "I know what you're going to say and I'm choosing to ignore it. You might see me doing it all for you, but it's really Mattie and your choice in the matter. Remember the case with Harding? I'm pretty sure a million things went on in your mind but ultimately you chose to kill him. I'm not saying it is a bad thing. Heck, I wanted the bastard dead myself.

"What I'm trying to say is it's normal. That's the culture here at Rose. You may have friends but there is a lack of emotion here. People have gone through a tremendous amount of pain but they still continue at Rose. Everything that you've done for Rose is absolutely fine. I've not needed to report your conduct or give you warnings. I see you as one of the best advanced feeders I've managed so far. Your mentality, though a bit confused and new, is perfect for Rose and this job."

It took me a moment to realise he was praising me.

"Iain, I don't think-"

"I do. You're a great help to us."

I frowned but said, "Thank you."

"And Alice, I'll do everything in my power to protect your job here with me and with Rose, no matter what."

I was shocked silent. I never imagined someone would recognise me for this. I never imagined that _murdering_ people would be praised. What Iain said just now moved me. And a tiny bit of me was repulsed by it. I didn't know what to say to that so I replied, "Thank you, Iain. Thank you for everything you've done for me so far."

Sam Hunt was a very likable vampire. Friendly and funny, Sam has an easy smile that you could do nothing but appreciate.

All of us, Iain, Sam and I were in Iain's office. It kind of annoyed me that Sam was sat in Mattie's seat but there was nothing I could do. I mean, how many other people sat in front of Iain before Mattie and I?

"So… aside from the introductions, back to work." Iain said. Since I arrived here I noticed he was keeping an eye on me for some reason. Maybe because he was thinking I was still attached to Mattie, which I was but… I guess I should move on faster.

"I'm going to put you on security. It'll help you two to get to know each other."

"Where are we going?" Sam said.

"To a birthday celebration for Hartley. It's tomorrow night. By the looks of the invite-" Iain paused to fish it out of a draw. He held a thin wafer of paper that looked more tissue, with long curved writing in gold detailing Bloody Rose was invited to the party and the where and when.

There was an emblem at the top of what looked like the family crest.

"Do you recognise the name, Alice?" Sam asked. I shook my head. "Hartley is one of the pure blood families."

"Yes, and as representatives of Rose, we need you to be extra careful. It's more than likely everyone that's not a pure blood will see you and Sam as a threat."

"A threat?" _Damn, I should really read up on my studies again or something. I feel so behind._

"There aren't that many purebloods nowadays. Let's just call them 'regular vampires', no offence, Sam." Iain motioned at Sam who waved his hand for him to continue, "there are even less to carry on the pure blood gene."

"Oh!" A light bulb went off in my head, "I remember now, Sarah said there were five pure blood families, Hartley, Raven, Thomas, Davison and Taylor."

"Yes, and Davison you've already met when you were on security with Mattie." Iain nodded. "Mattie is one, he's the only person of his family. Davison is large."

I felt a burst of happiness when I heard Mattie's name shortly followed by disappointment and hurt. That happiness only lasted for a second. If only I knew how he was feeling… My chest felt tight.

"Yeah, you can probably tell who is in the Davison family just by smelling them!" Sam laughed bringing me out of my thoughts.

Iain grinned. I was like 'what?'

Seeing my confusion Sam explained that when you're a vampire, people from the same family have a similar smell which totally killed the mood.

"Hartley, Raven and Thomas are the more secretive types. There was a rumour going around that Hartley was part of Gold but no one could prove it so it stays in the wind." Iain held up his hands. "Don't ask me how that started, it was around when I started working at Rose.

"Anyway, yeah. Hartley is a pure blood family and as such vampire society is more cautious around them."

"How come we didn't have this conversation before I met Davison?" I asked. I don't think I think I remember him mentioning the pure blood family in this much detail.

Iain sighed. "To be honest, it didn't really cross my mind. I suppose I just assumed Mattie would have told you considering he's a pure blood himself. But you learnt he's a pure blood when I showed you, right? I should have known that he doesn't talk about his past much."

"He didn't mention anything." I agreed.

"Does that invite say whose birthday it is and how old?" Sam asked changing the topic. Thank God. If I continued talking about Mattie, I think my chest might swallow me up, it's so tight. I had to rub it to see if that helped.

"Uh… No but it could be Roland Hartley. Alice, Roland is the second in line to being head of the family." Iain said.

"But don't let his status scare you, he's a down to earth kind of guy." Sam said. "But yeah, tomorrow night?"

"At nine pm." Iain said giving us the thin invite. "Sam, I want a report afterwards. Alice, depending on what happens, I want one off you too."

I nodded. I could do that.

"Well then! Have fun!"


	18. Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

It was raining the next day. Winds pelted the windows like no tomorrow as the clouds just dumped a load of water over the city. At eight the roads were quieter than they had been during the day so we didn't get into any delays.

One thing was on my mind though. The talk of pure bloods yesterday sparked another question in my mind.

"Hey, Sam?" Sam was driving. He wore a tuxedo with a little bow tie that made him look kinda cute. I guess it was the bow that did it since I was so used to the suit and tie combination for formal wear.

With his black hair slicked back people might have guessed he was a waiter but we were in the presence of vampires who barely make a mistake and see and know all.

I, on the other hand, wore a silver dress that 'poofed' at the waist like a tutu and ended just above my knee. Coupled with a set of silver matching strappy shoes, they made me look taller than I was. Did that fashion sense even work with vampires?

"Alice?"

I wasn't too sure how to phrase it. "Since there are pure blood vampires what do you call vampires that aren't… pure blood." I looked at him like I regretted my words. In the middle of that I realised Sam wasn't a pure blood vampire and that I might have offended him.

"Iain told me you'd ask a lot of questions."

"I can't help it!" I mumbled. What's wrong with all the questions? I just want to make sure of everything!

"That might be hard. We don't really have a word for that. But a vampire can tell how much 'pure blood' is in another vampire just by smell.

"Say pure blood vampire and a normal vampire - that is a vampire without any pure blood, have a child together, that child would have half pure blood, right? If that child has a child with a vampire without any pure blood, then that child would have twenty five per cent pure blood. The blood gets diluted further down the line.

"Vampires who were once human are different in the sense they smell different. They can still be substituted as a vampire without any pure blood in them."

A moment went by as I tried to get my head around what he said. Damn it was technical.

"Let's use some names you know as an example then?

"Say you were changed into a vampire, Alice. No pure blood whatsoever. Keeping track?"

I nodded. "This example I could follow."

Sam grinned. "Okay. So you had a baby with Mattie, that baby would have fifty percent pure blood."

 _A baby with Mattie though…_ I looked away as my cheeks flushed hoping the lights from the posts did not illuminate my face. I was conflicted. My chest ached but there was a feeling between my legs still…

 _Why did he use Mattie as an example!_

Sam continued, "Say you called him… I don't know, 'John'. That child would have fifty per cent vampire and human blood. He'd eventually become known as vampire though.

"When John has a child of his own, John's child would have twenty five percent pure blood."

"Oh! I got it now!" I said.

"Yes! Sorry, I should have used examples."

I told him it was fine. "So, you could be distantly related to a pure blood and not have any pure blood in you."

"Yes."

I meant it as a statement but I suppose my tone lead him to think that was a question.

"So what about Mattie?" I asked. Then I instantly regretted it out loud when he looked at me as if to say, "you're _still_ on about him?" or he was just giving him a dirty look like the rest of the vampires at Rose.

"Well… what about him?"

 _He wants me to say it clearly and out loud?_ "Well I noticed not many vampires love the idea of Mattie's presence." _Is it even okay to talk to Sam about this?_

"Hm." He didn't say a word. It seemed like forever and if the ride would have lasted forever, then I would be perfectly prepared to bug him for an answer. But it didn't.

"Sam, tell me."

"I'm not really sure how to describe it. Mattie is a vampire, I mean, he has the same characteristics with us but… there's something off about him - something _human._ " Sam shrugged. "It's a bit weird and I can't really put my finger on it."

"Eh…" _So Sam doesn't know? And he's a vampire._

"You care for him?"

 _Shit!_ "What? No, it's just that I wanted to know why people gave him dirty looks when he walks past… you know, stuff like that."

"Ah yeah… well that's the same feeling all vampires get with him. I daresay Mattie knows why but I'm glad he hasn't let that put him down. With any other individual, all the looks might... force them back in their shell, but with Mattie… I suppose he's gone past that."

I agreed. Hearing that I felt kind of happy I got to know Mattie despite all the stares he got and met all of his moods even if I didn't really enjoy them. I was kind of in awe of the guy.

The conversation slid away as our car neared our castle. The party was being held in loomed over the distance, every window lit up like a candle casting a shadowy gaze over the grounds and the water fountain just in front of it.

It was large. To get inside you had to walk up some steps where a butler or some staff member was waiting to get your keys and your coat. With its Victorian design, it was the only thing that was part of the landscape that held detail.

"You ready?" Sam asked me once we had gotten out of the car. He was holding an umbrella just above my head.

I held the open door in shock of the people around me. It wasn't that some women were wearing really lovely dresses that I didn't have to assume to be designer, but their faces. Most of them I knew, well known people. What I didn't know was that they were vampires themselves.

 _It's Damien O'Neill and his wife, the Managing Director of O'Neill Publishing. And that's Cindy Price the pop singer! She's with someone that's not her boyfriend?_

"S-Sorry." I took his arm and we crossed the space between us to the member of staff in front of the door.

"Good evening, Sam." He said nodding his head.

"Evening, Pat." Sam didn't bat an eyelid and we just walked past him as if he wasn't there.

I looked at him quizzically. If I whispered anything then I can bet the dozens of vampires here at the party would become listeners.

Sam shrugged. "Long story."

"Well, okay then."

The foyer was a large room with barely anything in it furniture-wise. Six pillars lined each side in regular intervals, each with a small walkway between the pillar itself and the wall. A window sat evenly in the space between pillars.

At the far end of the room was a set of double doors. Groups of vampires were scattered across the room, their dresses billowing softly in the light breeze that blew in.

Men wore tuxedos, I noticed. Some had tried to make theirs unique by changing the classical bowtie to something of choice.

 _Man, there are so many vampires here that I didn't even know were vampires…_

"We're still early."Sam pointed to the doors at the other end of the room, "When it's time, those doors open."

I nodded. It made sense that if he met one Hartley, he would know how their parties are done.

Sam and I just huddled together when the clock hit nine. There was that atmosphere when you know people were looking at you _without_ looking at you. Some had the nerve to actually stare at us as if they couldn't believe the human scent.

When it finally hit nine everyone started flooding into the next room as the doors opened. There was minimal talk. Heads were forward. Very different from the other security party.

We descended a large stairway that was elegantly decorated in white and gold. The same pillars stood here - ceiling to floor - four of them, larger than the ones before. They hid the small round tables that were dressed for the party in a white tablecloth with what looked like little cake stands meant for afternoon tea. They dotted the floor making it look like polka dots. It was accentuated by the lighting coming from several four tiered chandeliers that had trails of either silver or clear beads hanging through each tier and swinging down to just a few metres above people's heads. Running parallel to the back wall was a long table of dishes and behind that a staircase curved up to a door that was strangely placed right in the middle of it.

A couple of people stood at the bottom of the stairs. A blond woman in an A-line white dress that floated down her body with a permanent smile plastered on her face as she and a guy with brown hair in yet another tuxedo, greeted people.

I leaned over to Sam. Not that it mattered but it felt right, "Sam, I assume they're…"

He nodded. "That's Roland, the girl next to him is Rosy Hartley, his sister."

We had finally reached the bottom of the stairs when my hand was eagerly held by Rosy. She beamed at me and I could help but return that smile with one of those, 'I-have-no-idea-what-you're-planning-on-doing-but-I-have-to-be-nice-and-smile'.

 _She has really blue eyes._

"Hello there, Rose!" She said, jiggling my arm as if it was made of jelly. "I'm so happy you could make it on short notice!"

"Of course we'll make it if you're inviting us!" Sam grinned as he clasped both of Roland's hands. "This," He gestured toward me. "This lovely woman is my new advanced feeder, Lucy Henderson."

I plastered on my smile. I don't know, something about this party seems off to me. Everyone's too… I'm not sure of the word exactly but it seems fake and too ordered. I don't like it. It's the same in Rose. Was it the society I didn't like?

 _Is it because I'm not with Mattie?_

Professional Alice took me and shook my shoulders, _stop thinking about that man!_

I nodded my head. "It's lovely to meet you."

"As am I." Roland said. I think he might have wanted to catch up with Sam but saw there were a bunch of people behind us. "If you would help yourself to a table or the food, we'll have this party started soon."

Already some tables were full with some people sat down, chatting away. There were some people who directly stared at us, but when they realised I noticed that, they turned away to continue chatting.

 _Did people stare at us the last security?_

"Let's pick a table round the sides," Sam said. Leaning over he said, "Less newbies would stare."

 _Oh._ I think that made sense. Although I didn't like making assumptions, newly turned vampires needed to adjust to the new society they were now part of. I'd assume that loads of things would be easy to remember knowing a vampire almost never misses or forgets any detail, as Sam mentioned with everyone staring.

We picked a table in the far left corner. No one chose a table next to us. Actually they didn't choose a table within our circumference. Not that it mattered.

I looked at Sam with a face that said 'what the fuck', indicating the empty tables but he mouthed a 'I'll tell you when we get home'.

"Are you hungry, Lucy?" Sam said. Since he was my new vampire partner that's how he knew I hadn't ate much before coming to this party.

"Yeah, I can get it myself." The smell of meat, fish and other dishes brought my appetite back. Unlike the atmosphere. Somewhere out there in the world, a cat hissed.

The table with food was just under the stairs, which could only be seen once you had reached the bottom of the stairs where the hosts were welcoming people. From where we sat I could see only a few people browsing but they had no plates in hand to put food on even though one table was absolutely stacked to the brim with it.

"I'll go scouting alright." Sam said before getting up and head toward the stairs. Scouting was what the vampire did on security cases. Mattie did it when he left me in the middle of the last case. That was the only thing that needed to be done on a security case. I don't know the details exactly of what they do though. I'll have to ask later.

Two women were browsing the food when I got there. One looked like she was a model, she was wearing all gold with her hair a lovely brunette colour that fell down her shoulders and back like a waterfall. It was really mesmerising.

I could only see her profile from the side but she looked like a woman from one of the cases Sarah was telling me about. One that involved Bloody Gold.

But I put that at the back of my mind.

Like before, I decided to grab something to eat before I got grouchy because of hunger. But dear Lord the food looks appetising. Trout on a bed of salt with a few chives, salmon in a tomato sauce, roast lamb, pasta, rice, even a table to accommodate gluten free dishes. It was pretty hard to pick though. It was a bigger decision to see if I had enough space in my stomach to try everything.

Just as I was going to grab some salmon, I felt it. That familiar feeling you get when you came gone after hard day of work or when you're relaxing.

He stood next to me in a navy suit which was the only part of him that I could see from the corner of my eye.

"You haven't ate again?"

"You know I don't really eat before a party," I said.

 _Look straight ahead._

"That's right, I do."

A silence descended upon us. It lasted for several moments. Or minutes. Or however long the awkwardness lasted.

Until Mattie took my hand and started dragging me.

"W-wait!" I cried almost dropping the plate of food. Luckily I placed it somewhere. Hopefully I could pick it up later. "Where are you taking me?"

When he looked back his eyes had turned red. With the smile that didn't exactly reach his eyes, it was like he was planning on doing something bad. Really bad.

 _No._ Professional Alice perked up. _He's probably thirsty. Probably…_

"To a place where we can be alone." He frowned. "Aw, come on, Alice. You've known me for how long to know I won't pull any funny business with you."

I hadn't realised I had stiffened as he dragged me until I relaxed. I was going to say something along the lines of 'I don't have much experience with vampires with blood red eyes', but stopped myself as that sounded stupid and the room was ninety-nine per cent filled with vampires.

We wove through the mass amount of tables and up the flight of stairs that snaked up the wall. The door it lead to was open. Surprisingly gentle despite his red eyed nature, Mattie let me enter first by holding the door open and encouraging me in with a push at the small of my back.

It was dark. I could only note a large sofa and a railing with a bunch of clothes hanging due to the light the door let in.

Mattie shut the door then took my hand. He opened another door and with a flick of a switch somewhere (damn, his vampire sight), light flooded the room.

It was a shower room. The whole thing was covered in tiles. Larger tiles covered the walls making the smaller ones look like a mosaic. There was a drain in the corners of the room and several shower heads lined two walls.

"Mattie…" I said turning to him as he closed the door behind him. "I'm not your feeder, remember?"

"On paper you aren't." He said. I thank God he did not advance toward me or I would have been really scared. "In reality it's a different thing entirely. Or rather… we vampires follow the records at Ruby, you remember the first time you met Daniel?"

I swallowed. _Daniel and Jess..._

I nodded slowly. It was that circular room I had to go through every time to donate blood.

"That is Ruby, the researching department at Rose. Ruby keeps track of your blood including a vampire's intake of it."

I could tell he was trying to say something. "What are you…"

"It means I'm still taking your blood, Alice."

 _Did those eyes turn a shade darker? Is that possible?_

"Do you still want to reason with a thirsty vampire?"

 _That's right. I have no choice. Rule four._

I sighed. Giving up.

Mattie stepped closer till he could take my hand to maneuver me to a corner to where I sat down.

"Suppose I shouldn't have been wearing this dress then." I said smiling slightly.

He kneeled down, "No. You shouldn't have. Perhaps on another occasion."

"If it's not ruined."

Mattie trailed kisses on my forehead before reaching my neck and I… loved it. Damn. Every kiss that landed on my skin felt hot even though it was so gentle. And my breathing… it grew heavier just a bit.

"Mattie…"

"Shush." He murmured against my neck. He was kissing it, licking, scraping his teeth against me so much I found myself wanting him to bite. Fuck sake. "Tell me when to stop." He whispered before he bit. Deeply.

"Shit!" I gasped, grabbing hold of him. I'd forgotten the pain. It felt like the energy I had was just leaking out of me via my neck. I couldn't really make sense of the confusion running in my head or the blinding pain of wanting it to end faster.

Until I hit the point where I instantly felt tired.

I gasped. "Mattie, stop."

But he kept going.

"M-Mattie!" My voice sounded weak. Was that me? Didn't I shout? It was all I could do before I collapsed..


	19. Chapter 17

I woke to people talking. I didn't respond because I was too tired to even try. Instead I just lay there wondering what kind of words the sounds made.

Are they shouting? Talking?

How far away were they?

Who exactly was shouting or talking?

These questions rolled across my mind along with the energy it took to try and decipher what the answers were. I drifted off to sleep with them.

It was dark when I woke. Was this the first time I woke up?

Looking around in the moonlight that the half closed blinds on my right invited in, I saw a couple of empty seats against the wall.

On my left was one of those IV lines hooked in my arm.

 _What the fuck happened?_

Ahead of me was the door with a large window beside it. It had blinds but were pulled shut.

I tried to sit up but kept collapsing back on the bed so I went back to sleep.

"...She's doing well. Surprisingly well."

I stirred. What was that again?

"Alice!"

When I opened my eyes, Iain was staring at me with a shocked face. There was a woman too I guessed was the doctor considering her white overall.

"Iain? What happened? Where am I?" I had to hold my forehead as a massive headache overtook my senses. It disappeared after a few moments.

"You're at Rose's medical bay." Iain said. "Sam and Mattie took you here after you fainted."

"Mattie?"

I shook my head in attempt to get my brain working. I couldn't really remember much.

"Mattie… took a bit too much blood which is why you're here."

I looked at the IV line linked in my arm.

"You'll have to be on some supplements to replace the blood which means you'll be on a diet until a doctor says you're good to go." Iain nodded toward the woman opposite him. "This is Doctor Fisher. She'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Hello, Alice." She beamed down at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Immensely tired." I sighed.

"That'll be because of the blood loss. You'll feel better in a few days."

"Would you rather see some people or do you want to rest?" Iain said. "There's also something I need to ask you but that can wait." He winced as if it was something urgent.

"Tell me first." I said. Mentally I kicked myself away from the tiredness that was crawling at me. Feeling that would mean I won't be able to concentrate.

Iain sighed then indicated that Doctor Fisher should leave. "I'll be back later to check on you, Alice."

Once alone with Iain, he collapsed on the seat near the window. "Paper are visiting us very soon."

I knew sometimes Paper visited Rose. Sarah had mentioned it was just another thing they did to give the illusion of an existing, healthy relationship between the two organisations. I wasn't sure on how Gold managed their healthy relationship.

Paper would visit and randomly choose several Rose colleagues to join them for six months. To do what, I don't know.

I nodded. Didn't think I had the energy to even talk.

"Well… they've done something that they haven't done before and requested you."

"What do you mean…"

Iain looked at me straight in the eyes. "Alice Darling, you're the first to be chosen by Paper to live there for six months doing what, I don't know."

I couldn't sleep that well last night. I just laid awake wondering on what was to come considering the lack of information I had. Which wouldn't have been the first time I was dragged into something without my permission, so technically I should be used to it. Paper was predominantly research, right? Why did they need me? And why choose me in the first place!

I got to see Mattie and Sam the next day. Well separately.

Sam came in wearing last night's clothes except with a few creases in the shirt, as I sat up in the hospital bed with a box of chocolates saying I need some sugar.

"Hey, Sam."

"Alice! How are you feeling?"

"Better than yesterday."

A frown crossed his face. "Really?"

"Yeah." I said it as if I wasn't too sure. Considering the night before and my being at the hospital, it was strange. "I don't really feel tired and I don't feel confused."

"I see."

 _Shit. Did I say something bad?_

"I think Mattie might have something to do with that." Sam said.

A fleeting remark flickered through my hand but it went too fast for me to acknowledge what it said.

"Oh." I didn't know what to say so I decided to change the topic. "What happened at security then?"

"Just the usual." Sam pulled one of the seats near the window over next to my bed. He leaned back on it. "Nothing. There was a rumour going around that Hartley was going to be hit but it looks like that was it - just a rumour."

"What do you mean by… hit?" If someone was going to attack vampire society then they would target at least one of the pure blood families… if that's what Sam meant.

He shrugged it off. "Just a rumour." He paused. "Has Iain told you about Paper?"

I said he sort of had.

"Paper is up to something. I don't know what. Iain wants you, me and Mattie in Iain's office for a briefing regarding it. I suggest you save every single question you have when that happens. In the meantime…" Sam opened the box of chocolates, "you should have these."

Just as I was going to take one (or maybe a few), he tugged it away, grabbed my wrist and sniffed it.

"S-Sam!" In an instant he released me. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Peering up at me with eyes the colour of blood, Sam's whole gentleman approach was shot out of the window.

"I needed to make sure of something. Anyway, I'll let you go. Mattie's in the hallway for you if you want to see him." After placing the chocolates on the seat, he left.

I touched my wrist just as Mattie entered. It _looked_ fine. It didn't hurt when I moved it so what was that about?

"Hi, sleepy head." He said grinning. I don't know, Mattie was the sort of guy you could not be mad at. Although I do wonder if he forgave me for killing Caim. Was taking my blood until I passed out some sort of punishment?

"Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

I told him what I told Sam and he pulled the same expression Sam gave me. "What?"

"Nothing…"

"Mattie… you're always explaining things to me yet you won't explain what just happened?"

He moved the chocolates off the seat to an empty space on my bed before collapsing on it. "Promise you won't get mad?"

I waited for him to continue.

He sighed. "Just let me say I'm really sorry about taking so much of your blood. I didn't mean to make you faint and I did mean it when I said to 'tell me when to stop'." He took a deep breath. "I put a little of my blood in your drinks and I might have put a bit more when I bit you."

It took me a moment to realise I hadn't replied.

" _What?_ "

This is ludicrous. Mattie wouldn't just mix up my blood, _my blood,_ without my permission, right?

He shuffled in his chair. "Considering what happened to Caim, I wanted to see at which point my blood just... strayed from the normal transition from human to vampire."

All I could do was stare at him. _That means I'm not human, right? It means my blood is tainted._

 _Is that why Sam sniffed me?_

 _But I don't feel like I need blood or have the instincts of a vampire…_

"Alice," Mattie said taking me out of my internal debate. He stood up and to my surprise, bowed. "I take full responsibility if it gets out."

"Mattie… what am I…" Why did I say that? That wasn't what I wanted to say. I wanted to just _say_ that I'm not a fucking experiment for you so why the hell did you pick me?

He visibly relaxed as he sank back into the chair. "You're still human, remember? Once you get fifty one percent of vampire blood, then you're considered a vampire."

 _Right. That's right._

I looked at the sheets as if they could break this feeling I had. What was it? The feeling of being deceived with loneliness thrown in there. Of not really knowing yourself the way you should.

But then Mattie stood up again, took my chin with a finger and came closer and pressed his mouth on mine.

 _What?_

All too soon he leaned back to look at my expression. Heck, I couldn't even register what was plastered on my face before he kissed me again, opening his mouth.

When he released me he smiled. "Needed to break the ice."

My brain clicked. "You've broken more than just the ice, Mattie. Rule one?"

" _Don't mix human and vampire blood together._ I know, but you remember how vampires see the nine rules as a guideline. I've had many feeders who've broken the rules."

"Ah."

"Well that was it. I should really let you rest."

"Wait!" Mattie froze. "Is that why I've been recovering really fast? Because I have your blood in me?"

"Pretty much. Vampire blood recovers a lot faster if injured." He then leaned down to kiss my forehead. A kind gesture but there was something eating at me. "Sleep well. Iain wants a meeting at his office when you're better with me, you and Sam."

"I know, Sam told me."

Mattie smiled before saying "get well soon" and leaving.

 _I think after taking a significant amount of my blood, Mattie might mistake his feelings for Caim on to me. It's the feeling of confusion, when you know it's not yours. Misplaced feelings._

I thought of those things looking at the closed door to my hospital room. _It's sad, I do love Mattie despite everything I've done. I should be happy when he kissed me but I'm just… sad._


	20. Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Within a few more days I was back to a healthy state. I had a bit of trouble explaining to Doctor Fisher that I was fine. I think she was a bit shocked I recovered so fast after losing so much blood.

For those few days I had been on an iron rich diet now, not that my tests said I needed more, but to get her off my back.

I couldn't tell her about having Mattie's blood running in me. I didn't know what she might think. Is she like Sam and abide by the rules? Is she like Mattie who has a loose understanding? Plus if she reported the rule break, wouldn't that mean I'd have to leave Rose? Rose, Iain and Mattie was pretty much everything I had.

During those few days I was in bed, Paper visited and picked the people who were going to be living there with me. It was a shame, I wanted to see Paper myself.

I was sat in Iain's office with Mattie beside me. Sam leaned against the wall beside the door. The people who were picked dotted around the room. There were three in all excluding myself. One, a young girl had short brown hair, glasses and wore a blue and white dress with frills on. A bit of an odd thing to wear but if that's what she likes, I'm not planning on arguing. Her 'new' name was Cindy Smith.

There was another girl, Laura Frost - a vampire - with long blond hair in jeans and a jumper. Her eyes narrowed as if she didn't trust anyone in the room, occasionally turning red.

Finally a guy, James Walsh, another vampire who wore a navy suit to match his eyes. His blond hair had been dyed black at the tips. It was amazing to see it dyed considering his hair was just long enough to catch his shirt collar.

All three had their managers with them, all of them in formal wear. I never really noticed but Iain wore formal type clothes whenever I saw him. Maybe it was a must.

With Ted activated, the meeting began.

"So I hope you all know why you're here today." Iain said. Looks like he was going to spearhead this.

Everyone nodded. Mattie stood, rounded to the back of my seat to wrap his arm around my shoulders.

"There is very limited information we can give you about Paper," Iain continued. "But we do have an aim we would like you to accept before going into Paper." He paused to get everyone's undivided attention. And it worked. I had no idea about this 'aim'.

"To note this is a personal request and by no means are you obligated to follow through. If you choose not to help, then please do not interfere with those that have agreed. This includes telling Gold." Iain made eye contact with everyone, finally landing on mine.

"I would like you to get information regarding Matthew Taylor."

 _Mattie?_

"What?" Laura cried out.

All eyes shot between Mattie and Laura including my own. They all had the same puzzled question plastered on our faces in varying degrees. Somewhere there was a part of me that registered some between disgust to bewilderment. I tried very hard to ignore those who reacted with disgust.

"But… why?" She said once she composed herself.

"Rose barely has any information on Mattie's past. It may also provide some answers on the 'hate' or 'dislike' some vampires have against him." Iain said ever so calmly as if raising his voice would be a certain trigger to set Laura off.

"Iain." Mattie said. He looked straight at Iain. "Why now? My past has nothing to do with my contribution to Rose nor with my future."

"It may not affect you, but it does for other people."

I shuffled in the chair constantly aware Mattie would know. The question passed my lips constantly and the answers I got just didn't sit well with me. How did Sam word it before? Something about Mattie being human? If I hadn't seen that old photograph, it would probably be too hard to understand or accept. I only knew Mattie as a vampire do it's hard to imagine him as anything but.

I felt Mattie rub my shoulder. _Yes, he knew._

"What makes you think Paper has the answer?" One of the managers asked.

 _It's only Iain asking this. He's… amazing doing this. Especially when it's so risky. Even though I had questions on it and asked around, I never thought that the information might be at Paper or Gold and should the opportunity arise… to be honest, I'm not too sure if I would have even taken it._

"There's a lot of things we don't know about Paper or Gold, right? Our 'sisterly' relationship disappeared a long time ago so for Paper to continue making its yearly rounds… that's saying something, don't you think?" Iain shrugged. "I mean Emily, you know as much about Paper as I do."

"Yes, but I don't know… this sits oddly with me. You're telling them to spy on Paper?"

"You're describing it as 'spying' relating to the relationship. It died, as Iain said. It's just for show now." James said, nodding. "Many veterans - and we don't have a lot of them anymore - still use this 'relationship' as an excuse to do things. They did mean something to some people but Rose has been here for a significant amount of time and those things just don't matter to the newer people."

"But the name is still there," Emily stared daggers at James. " _Bloody sisters._ Bloody Rose, Bloody Gold and Bloody Paper."

Both were still arguing when I heard a "what's your decision?" whisper next to me.

"I'll do it." I didn't even need to debate. I looked right into Mattie's eyes with his arm still around me. "No question."

 _It might be because I'm his feeder or because of my quest to understand everything I can, or even my love for him that's making me come to this decision. Whatever it is, it feels right. I won't have regrets on it later._

His emerald eyes stared back. "Are you sure? Once you say you are, you can't change your mind halfway through."

"I won't."

We both were silent. Heck, the whole room was silent and looking at me as if I was an alien.

"Well that's one decided. Anyone else?" Iain said smiling in my direction. I guess he would have known what my answer would be even before this meeting happened. The points were obvious.

"I'll help." It was Cindy.

"James? Laura?" Iain said.

Laura was shaking her head. "Definitely not."

"I suppose it'll give me something to do." was James's answer.

"Well then," Iain continued. "Please don't reveal the contents of this meeting to anyone but those involved apart from Laura. Paper will be coming in a week's time so we expect everything to be sorted out regarding your six month stay. You will also need to sign a document so Rose knows not to give you any cases for the months you aren't here.

"Laura, could you please leave?"

She stalked out of here like no tomorrow. Ted needed to be shut down before the door could open, but it didn't put a dent in her mood. Or her stride. Turned off and then on, it seemed like a storm or some kind of hurricane had passed through and we had survived it.

Iain sighed before continuing. "Think of this like a case but for a long period of time. As usual there are a few little things you'll have. Since there isn't much about Paper and their policies on outsider equipment, we can only hope that they won't see it as 'spying' or anything else. If they don't allow it full stop, dont argue. Again, you'll get the equipment within the week before Paper's arrival."

Cindy raised her hand and like a teacher and student scenario, Iain said, "yes?"

"Since Paper is a sister of Rose, wouldn't they have similar or the same policies that we do?"

"No. They are mainly research and development so will have rules… guidelines, whatever you want to call it, in place to target that speciality. However, please remember the nine rules Gold has given us."

"Can we talk to other people who have done this?" James asked.

"Again, no… because… shortly after returning to Rose they moved over to Paper."

 _What?_

"What do you mean by that?"

"It means Paper is hiding something. Or many things." Sam piped up from the door. I had to turn around fully to give him my undivided attention.

 _I almost forgot he was here._

"This lack of knowledge between organisations is our advantage and our disadvantage. The advantage being we can have almost free rein in what we can do and not get caught if it's something bad. On the other hand, the disadvantage is we don't really know what or who were dealing with.

"Every year they come and every year they take more of our colleagues without a reason why. Rose can't contact them and they won't answer. We also try having this meeting about Paper every year but the outcome is the same. We _need_ to know why."

"What makes you think that same outcome will happen?" James asked, crossing his arms in the process.

"We don't, but we do have Alice, who Paper seems to be pretty interested for some reason."

I shuffled in my seat as all eyes turned on me. Each one made me look like I was an alien, all except three: Iain, Mattie and Sam. Mattie squeezed my shoulder in reassurance before patting it. None of them said a word. Maybe none were needed.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Iain said, glancing between everyone. "Everyone is free to come into my office if and when they have any questions to ask. Under no circumstance are you to leave it till the last minute nor are you to _not_ ask it." He paused, "Okay, this brief has ended. Can everyone leave but Sam, Mattie and Alice?"

 _I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this. I could be wrong though._

Everyone filtered out and once the door was once again closed with Ted switched on, Mattie put his hands under me. By that I meant under my thighs.

"What the-" I squealed as my cheeks grew warm and red. "Mattie, that tickles!" _Damn it! What's he doing?_

"Ah, come on, Alice." He said grinning.

I sneaked a peek at Iain who had a weird expression on his face. It was between 'not-this-again' and 'should-I-even-tolerate-this?'

Mattie picked me up just to put on his lap. I shot him a disapproving look but he just grinned like the schoolboy, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning his head on my shoulder.

"Geez, Mattie." Iain said. "You were making a statement there with your arm. Need you make even more of one?"

"It's okay. It's just you three."

I tried to climb off his lap but he kept me in place with a huge spoon. "Mattie…" I mumbled, my cheeks flaming again.

Sam shuffled to lean against the front of Iain's desk. I couldn't see his expression. "What is it you wanted to tell us?"

We all seemed to freeze until Iain replied, "There are two things I need to tell you. Since you're the only one whom I trust who's a feeder in that little group," he indicated toward the door. "I would prefer it if you saw Mattie's history yourself."

I nodded. I didn't really know what to say. I mean, I understood… kind of where he was coming from… but then again…

"All managers do things differently, Alice. It's like with Sam and Mattie. Sam sees that the nine rules should be followed,whereas Mattie sees them more like guidelines.

"Plus I barely know Cindy and James." Iain shrugged.

"Do you mean you wouldn't mind it if Alice doesn't look at my history?" Mattie said. I shuffled on his lap. His breath on my ear did some things to me. Sitting on his lap was one of the moments when he was _really_ close to me.

 _As if I was Caim._

I kicked the thought out of my mind. Unfortunately it hit against the sides of my brain and landed in a heap.

 _Geez, if he were human, I probably would have noticed when he was going to talk._

Iain pulled a face. "Well I would severely discourage it. It just depends on the situation."

"And the other thing?" I asked.

Iain squared his shoulders as if the next piece of news was really bad. Was it a premonition of what was to come?

"I know you two both want to be partners." He motioned toward me and Mattie.

 _Well I do…_

 _Wait. Mattie forgave me? He wants to be my partner? Did he mention that before?_

Suddenly my mind was a mess. I couldn't help but turn around to just stare at his face. Hopefully despite being a vampire, he'll let me in to peek at his emotions.

His eyes saw mine. Those damn emerald eyes that just blinked like nothing happened.

Then he grinned, holding me tight.

 _So he did._

A flash of relief came over me only to be washed away by Iain. But there was something at the back of my mind wondering if he really did forgive me. I chose to ignore it.

"That might just have to be delayed because of the whole Paper thing."

"What?" I cried out.

"I don't know... " Iain started pacing in the space between me and his desk. "Paper doesn't seem to like Mattie so I don't want to prejudice it." I was going to ask why - probably a bit more harshly than I would have - but Iain held up his hand to stop me. "I know. You don't like it. Both of you don't-" I really did want to see the look on Mattie's face but I felt weird having to move around on his lap a lot. "But I'll start the paperwork for a switch in partners once you're back from Paper. And don't ask me why Paper don't like Mattie, okay?

"The plan is for the six days that we have, you two can spend the time you have together and for the last day… try to remove all traces of Mattie's scent on you."

"Scent?" I asked.

Sam perked up. "Vampires can tell if humans have a partner because their touch leaves a scent on their skin. Right now you smell mostly of Mattie and of myself."

My face grew warm. _Right…_

"You'll have to wear my clothes, stuff like that." Sam continued. The trail in his voice meant he was aware of Mattie's displeasure. Heck, I could note that due to the stillness of his arms around my waist.

"Fine." Those arms squeezed me. "As long as I can have Alice for the six days."


	21. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

 _I'm restless. I'm pathetic. I can't even do the simplest of things before a flush invades my face._

Those were the thoughts that raced through my mind the past couple of days since we arrived back at The Manor.

I couldn't even look at Mattie. What's worse is I know he knows that I can't even look at him.

 _Actually, it's probably a given that he knows everything that's running through my head._

Right now I'm making food - a salad. Mattie came in my room and because of that flush that invaded my cheeks, I made up some shitty excuse to leave. "I'm making some food." What kind of excuse is that?

 _It's because of that idea that Mattie might like me. And there's that little bit of me that hopes because what kind of person lifts me up and puts me on his lap? Who does things you'd see in a relationship?_

 _But Caim... He's just thinks I'm Caim, right?_

 _Isn't it weird to date the guy Caim went out with? That's weird isn't it?_

"Alice?" I jumped. The tomatoes that I really shouldn't have been cutting with a fuzzy, confused mind jumped with me, some rolling off the kitchen table and on the floor.

It was Mattie, of course.

"Shit, you shouldn't really scare me with a knife in my hands." I took a deep breath, put the knife down before turning to him.

 _I said a lot of 'shouldn'ts'. At least it feels that way. I shouldn't feel this way with Mattie. I shouldn't cut these tomatoes…_

He was on the far side of the island, leaning on the countertop in a beige cabled jumper. His hair was ruffled as if he had just woken up but I knew that was not the case.

I leaned on the countertop behind me. I didn't expect I'll be keeping up this behaviour for long.

"Mattie?"

"Is something wrong? Did I do something to offend you?"

"No…"

"Then…"

Iain told me before I could talk to Mattie because he is my… vampire. But that's just with Rose related stuff, right?

"Are you uncomfortable with how I am with you?" He asked.

"Not really…" I stared at the floor. _If only it were real though, I'd be over the moon._

"Alice, tell me. I'm your partner, right? I can tell that there's something wrong with you." _Yeah, even I know I'm not hiding it._

 _But how do I put it into words without it sounding really stupid?_

He cocked his head at me, still waiting for my answer.

 _Do I just blurt it out?_

"Alice?"

"I don't know!" I cried out. It was a reaction. I felt like I should wave my hands in the air like a mad woman, "It's all jumbled up!"

"Maybe you could just say what's in your mind and I'll try to figure it out?"

 _I have to say it because I -_ we _\- can't go on like this._

"It's just amazing, right? How can you like me after dating Caim, going through the pain of his death, learning that I, _his sister,_ murdered him? I don't understand how that could happen.

"And what does 'like' mean? Is it love? Are you mistaking me for Caim? When you had your arms wrapped around me did it have a feeling behind them? Am I being used?"

 _How do I stop this train? I'm just interpreting his actions that day in Iain's office as… well someone really close to him. Am I that?_

"Don't you think it's a bit wrong to even think of dating me after dating Caim?" I stopped abruptly. Everything I had concerns about or thought about just poured out of me and hung in the air. I thought I had more things to say but that was it. It seemed like there was more.

Mattie just looked at me. I could tell by his blinking he was thinking it over. Maybe it was a forced action that was telling me my stupid thoughts were registered somewhere in the caves of his mind.

"Do you know the colour of a vampire's eyes when he's interested in someone?"

 _Excuse me? Did I just say all that for nothing? How dare he!_

I turned around to cut more tomatoes. "Fine, you don't care, I get it."

"On the contrary, I do care. Quite a lot." His voice was loud against my ear giving me a fright.

He was behind me. _Damn his vampire speed!_

A hand snaked around to put the knife down yet again. He kept it there over my hand as if I was going to do something dangerous.

"A vampire's eyes are red. Yet they change colour depending on how he _or she_ , feels toward the feeder."

I couldn't help but swallow at his words that left me frozen.

"You probably wouldn't have learnt this because Sarah isn't a fan of being that hungry that her eyes turn red. Humans wouldn't know this because their eyesight isn't as detailed as a vampire's sight is - even with twenty-twenty vision.

"They change to a deeper shade ever so slightly."

"Why are you even telling me this?" I asked.

"Because mine have changed."

I turned my head to look at his with a quizzical look on my face. "' _Humans wouldn't know this'_?"

"You're free to test it out if you like, just ask at Ruby."

Because he said that I believed him.

"My eyes would answer some of the questions you voiced. I'm not using you, far from it. I did think you might think I'm just mixing up my feelings for you and your brother, all this time I knew you liked me - I could tell from your eyes, but even while I was in a relationship with Caim and after his death, I never knew how to give you an excuse or reason to acknowledge that feeling so I chose to ignore it thinking it was best on both of it. Even now I don't know of a reason that'll convince you that I'm not mixing you two up.

"'How can I like you after killing Caim? Killing people is part of the daily life at Rose." He shrugged.

"And no, I don't find it weird to want to date you after Caim. Again, it's part of the norm at Rose."

 _Can I accept this as an answer? He didn't really answer the 'are you projecting your feelings for Caim onto me' question which was the one that I wanted an answer to._

"Will you be able to answer it later?" I pressed.

He shifted his weight onto another foot, turning me around. His face was just a few inches away from mine. His eyes were brown.

"It's that important to you?" I nodded. "Then I will think of a reason for you." He leaned to plant a gentle kiss on my forehead.

I don't know what possessed me to do the next thing. I leaned forward on my tiptoes and kissed him. Very lightly, a brush.

 _I don't want to lose him like I did. I don't want to lose any more people. Not Iain. Not Sam. Not Mattie. If I confess would I get to have him by my side for a while longer?_

Mattie touched my cheek and returned my kiss.

 _I wonder though. Does that mean we're dating now?_

On the second last day before Sam took over, Mattie had an idea for our morning. We'd started just stealing kisses, brushes, smiles… for the past few days which was really cute. But as I had to leave for six months, he had the idea of us sleeping next to each other.

I only thank God he said 'next'.

As it turned out,we officially broke rule eight: Don't touch your vampire in a romantic way, and rule nine: Do not fall in love with your vampire (even though I had already broke that way earlier).

I woke up next to him. It was evening and it was the day… night, whatever that Sam would have me to 'remove the smell of Mattie' off of me.

"Good evening, Alice."

I blinked to find a gentle pair of emerald eyes looking at me.

"Good evening, Mattie." Smiling, I hugged him. It was warm under the covers with him.

 _Was it right to have done this?_

Professional Alice perked up from her bed, an arm hanging out to stare at me. "It's a bit too late to have doubts, don't you think?"

"Mattie?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"Does this mean we're together?"

"If you want to be."

I lifted my head lazily to look at him. "What if I answer and you thought otherwise?"

"I'm pretty sure I won't." He rubbed his nose on the part between my eyes that made a 'v' when I frowned. Which was now.

"Then yes." They came out weak and quiet in my ears. "I want it very much."

"So do I."

I couldn't describe how happy I was when I heard that from him. It felt like my chest had swelled. A massive smile erupted on my face and I felt a bit embarrassed that he could see how happy he made me right now so I buried my head in his chest.

My phone started buzzing. _Amy!_

"Alice! I was expecting you to call but you never did." I heard her whine.

"Sorry, I'm a bit busy- I'm not right now." I added quickly.

I was sat on the island in the kitchen poking a spoon in my cereal and thinking about last night. What Mattie and I did… I felt my cheeks burn. I think Mattie was still lounging about upstairs…

"Still with assignments?"

 _What?_

"Yeah." _University!_ "I'm really just… dying."

"Listen… I know it's really short notice but since it's coming up Christmas, can you come out with me to do some shopping? You don't have to if you're still bogged down in work though."

Christmas? Right, it's November!

"Sure I can I just have to-"

A breeze caressed my face as Mattie appeared in front of me with his vampire speed. He'd been listening. And I knew that he could hear what Amy was saying.

There was something about him now that made me smile. Dressed in a navy blue gown with a smirk on his face he was a sight for sore eyes.

Or maybe it was because we both felt the same way. The thoughts that plagued my mind on his and Caim's relationship just disappeared in a poof of smoke. I didn't have to hide anything and most certainly the feelings I have for this vampire everyone seems to hate.

"You can join her if you want, you haven't seen her in awhile right?"

"Alice?" Amy's voice brought me back to her.

"Hold on a sec, okay?" I covered the phone a bit to address Mattie, "Are you sure? We only have tomorrow left then Sam's taking over."

He came toward me slowly until he stood right next to me so I had to swivel on the stool to face him.

"I can survive without you for a day, I think." His voice was gentle. The smirk was gone, replaced with a kind and warm face. I had a slight expectation that he would stroke my cheek or do something that was intimate but he didn't. Maybe he exhausted his resources for the past few days.

I kissed his cheek having to stand on the stool's supporting bars to reach the height, to say thank you.

I returned to the phone, "Amy?"

"Can you come?" She was trying to rid the excitement from her voice but I could hear it. Did she hear our conversation despite my hand blocking the mic?

"Sure. Where and when?"

 _Being at Rose is affecting me,_ I reasoned with myself. _I'm underground and it's like Christmas isn't even allowed down there. I don't think I've seen one Christmas related item. Plus the weather above isn't really saying much either._

I remembered the rain at the party Sam and I went to. It was getting cold, there was no doubt about that. But the thing is, because Rose was underground you don't feel it. The air currents were the same.

So here I was wrapped up in a winter coat, a jumper and jeans. I completed the 'I-can't-seem-to-get-warm-enough' look with matching bobbled cabled hat, scarf and mittens.

Then again, I really don't think vampires even feel the cold.

I was early waiting in front of a café shop in town at five to eleven. Hoards of people passed by me and with my trained (or to be more accurate 'in training') eye, I noticed that some were vampires. If I had seen them during my early days at Rose, I might had needed to stare or even give them a second glance but now I was positive. I wouldn't have known the amount of vampires in broad daylight in human society even before knowing Rose.

"Boo!"

I jumped as a jab at my sides alerted me to Amy's arrival. She grinned. Her hair was loosely tied back not allowing it to cascade down her shoulders on her waterproof coat but there were always a few that waved in the breeze. She wore a dress with black tights and boots which left me wondering how is she not cold.

"Hey!" I smiled hugging her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, you know I've been so excited for today." Amy's eyes lit up like a firework. "You have to absolutely promise me you'll start seeing me more often, okay?"

"Of course." I heard myself saying. It was an automatic reply. We started walking to nowhere in particular, I think. The air smelt of smoke, the sweet and coffee shop that was not too far in front of us and of other things that were carried over by the cold wind. The Christmas lights had a magical aura to it attracting children closer. Even if they were just cheap. Even If they had been put out the previous years.

"I remember though," Amy started without looking at me. "you were with a guy before, right?"

"Yeah?" For some reason I felt a need to protect Mattie. I didn't mean it when my answer sort of turned into a question, it sort of just came out like that. _I guess I can't take that back anymore.  
_ "Are you two together? I could help you get a Christmas present for him if you haven't done all your shopping yet?"

 _Are you serious? Does Amy know what happened last night? What's happening? Is something on my face?_ A million and one things ran through my head as the thought train pumped faster and faster around and around and-

I coughed. "Yeah, we are." _Just ignore that burning sensation on your cheeks, Alice. You should be used to it after spending your waking hours permanently red faced!_

She was right though even is she had no idea about Rose. I hadn't done any shopping. I tried to remember the previous Christmas that we had together with Caim, Mattie and I. But I couldn't think of a time when we did that tradition of having dinner together. Last year for example, they were away for the whole of December. Lonely when everyone was with their families, I was invited by another friend to spend Christmas at theirs. It was a good thing that I knew a bit about the parents otherwise. I guess back then I hoped that the next Christmas (this coming one), would be better but without Caim…

Amy brought me back to reality as she shook my arm. "Oh my God! Tell me he has a hot brother or friend!"

"Eh?" Her eyes burned into mine with her excitement. To be honest, I didn't even know if Mattie even had any siblings. I was never introduced to any so I assumed he was an only child. It was he same with his friends. With those at Rose giving him the evil eye, maybe all he had was Iain, Caim and I. And now one was gone.

"Come _on_ , Alice!"

I looked away not knowing how to avoid Amy's persistence. I knew her for a long time but there were times when I just couldn't deal with her. "I-I'll ask him later."

Maybe I'd be struggling in the future with the restrictions Rose has.

Amy's grin could have brightened up the place. "Alice, you're the best!"

Over the next few hours we wandered around the shops until we decided to have some lunch when our feet felt like they were going to fall off. Because I think we actually went through every shop that was a priority. Sometimes I think we only explored some of them because we were in town and it was there.

By lunch Amy had gathered two bags full of fluffy items like socks, bears, hand warmers and the occasional box of gift sets. Amy had a sister, Rachel, who was three years younger. Amy spent a lot of humming on what her sister would want. Even though she had already bought them. On the other hand, I had no idea what to even get Mattie and Iain. My hands were still empty. Amy kept prodding me but even so.

"So?"

I sighed, "Honestly I'm not sure."

We weaved between people trying to stay close together as possible. There were times when you would do that shimmy when someone's blocking you and you have to apologise awkwardly, not knowing why you were apologising for in the first place.

Amy paused in front of a busy card shop, looking at the front display of teddy bears of different sizes all having fun at a Christmas themed party. Some bears were dressed as Santa, some as elves, there was even one with a set of reindeer horns I smiled at.

 _What would Mattie even like? Another mug?_ _What does Mattie even like?_

Professional Alice perked up just as Amy said she'll head in to get wrapping paper. As it was absolutely heaving, I didn't fancy waiting by her for the perfect card, choosing to wait outside.

 _What would Mattie like indeed?_

I didn't want to give him a generic present. I've been with him for a good few years so I should have some idea, right?

 _Let's start from the beginning,_ Professional Alice said. _When you think about Mattie, what do you think of?_

I didn't even know how to answer that. _Mattie's..._

 _Mattie's...?_ She prompted, leaning ever closer to me with her hands behind her back as if it could emphasis her point.

Nothing came to mind. _Mattie's... very open-minded and patient with me._ Even as I said that, there was a part of me that had doubt. Like everything that had happened, these years knowing each other would disappear once I bare my heart out to him. Which was too late. Maybe I could hardly believe it. Rose's culture was so different to what I was used to even though I should be used to it after being here for so long.

My eyes grazed the shops on the other side. People passing seemed to be a blur, their faces too distorted to even tell if they were male or female. The Christmas rush made it worse. I couldn't grasp at anything much less think of what gift to even give the man I had fallen in love with.

 _I barely know this man._ The sentence dropped like a bombshell. A pain in my chest flourished.

"Hey!"

I jumped out of my daze to see Amy with a bag of cards and another bear in her arms. She was smiling but her face fell when she saw me.

"Are you okay? You're really pale."

"Yeah..." I shook my head. It removed the thoughts but the feeling was still there, buried in my heart.

I was half focused on her.

And left the day empty handed.

Sam was already waiting in the hallway at Iain's office by the time the both of us arrived. With a small bag in hand and a black t-shirt and jeans, he leaned against the railing the same way Mattie had before.

 _Was it a vampire thing?_

But no. Something seemed to stir downstairs. A bunch of people were entering Rose but there was a clear divide between those that were already inside and those entering. I couldn't see a difference between them, it looked like the way people didn't like Mattie for some weird reason.

His eyes narrowed when he looked at me which made me rack my brain for a reason as to why he did that.

Or maybe he was just trying to gauge how much 'smell' he had to remove.

Was Mattie's dislike rubbing off on me too?

Fuck sake.

There was a bang from behind which made me jump. _Shit, what was that?_

But it was the door. Iain had slammed it against the wall as he opened it. "You three, get the fuck in here now! We don't have much time."

I never saw Iain like that. A frown that seemed to easily form on that face that was always smiling. It was a weird sight.

Once we had all piled in and Ted was active Iain put a load of boxes on my lap.

"Iain, what-" I said.

"Have you seen the people outside? That's Paper. Those boxes there… they're everything that you need before you leave today."

"Today?" Mattie cried out.

Iain pointed at the boxes on my lap. "In there is an ear piece. It's very small so make sure you don't lose it when you get it out of the box."

I guessed that was what was inside the small box. There were some pieces of tissue paper that housed a small thimble like device. Beside it was a clear pear drop necklace with 3 red jewels inside it.

"Keep the earpiece and the necklace on you at all times."

I opened the next box as Mattie put the necklace around my neck. I put the piece in my ear.

"It's connected to a server that only you, James and Cindy can use. Cindy has the server and it's range is pretty wide. Should it be compromised, immediately stop using it and notify the others. It will be a problem afterwards but I know you guys will make do without."

I opened a box that looked like someone might propose to me. A pair of contact lenses were in it.

Iain continued, "Those contacts are cameras. Blink twice and the image will be taken and stored in the same server. It cannot record."

"Didn't you say something about signing something?" Sam said. "And what about the last day?"

"That's just it though. Paper is coming _today._ For some reason, an idiot downstairs misheard. That's them downstairs that just entered the building."

 _Ah, makes sense now but the obvious dislike?_

"Yes, sign this, Alice." Iain took a couple sheets off his desk and passed it to me. It was the contract that he had told me about before.

I signed it then look a look at Mattie, sat next to me who hadn't said a thing. I was getting the knack of guessing Mattie's mood. I guessed it was uncomfortable or somewhere along those lines.

He was staring at the desk still as a rock. Emotionless.

I swallowed. _How do I cheer him up before I leave?_

Iain continued. Somehow there was a part of me that was paying attention to him despite seeing Mattie's reaction. "We can't go back now. Paper is here. Just say something along the lines of…" Iain shrugged, "you had to be with Mattie for undercover work, I don't know just something - if they ask of course."

"I suppose Paper is waiting for us." Iain said. He was checking his watch.

 _I have to say goodbye now?_

I just stared wide eyed at Iain, turned to Sam then Mattie. They were staring at Iain like he had just grown another head. I couldn't think, couldn't really function in the moment that Iain was pressured into, pressuring _us_ into. Say goodbye in this hurried moment? That's almost impossible?

"Iain…" I said. I was going to on the moment but Iain had interrupted me.

"Alice, we have to go _now._ " Iain whined moving over to the door.

 _Shit! Once I leave this room, I can't look at Mattie the way I want to. Not for six months._

I hurried on my feet _._ "Sam, thank you for everything you've done for me during these past few weeks together."

"You're very much welcome." Sam stepped forward to give me his hand to shake. "I hope you don't fuck up the rules further by announcing to everyone that you're officially together."

My cheeks burned as I shook his hand. I somehow muttered a "I hope so". Clearing my throat I turned toward Iain saying, "thank you for putting up with me." I frowned. _It sounds like I'm not coming back._

"Alice, it's my job to look out for you. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. But it was only when you and Caim came that I realised it wasn't a job anymore." He grinned. "I'll make sure you're coming back because if I don't, I'm pretty sure Mattie would be on my back like no tomorrow."

I shared his grin as I turned to hug Mattie. I wasn't too sure what I was supposed to say so I hid my face against his shirt. In response I felt his hand on my head.

Everyone was waiting outside just in front of the lift . Rose was covered with a night sky ceiling. The only thing that lit the pathway were the lamp posts glowing an orange light. Shadows played around on the grass as if children of the dark were playing football or some running sport. Just before us bathed in light were five figures which I guessed were Cindy and James with their managers. Plus someone from Paper. They were chatting among themselves when we arrived then stared at us quietly.

 _Why do people do that? That's so rude._

All of us walked in silence. It felt like an eternity.

"Marcus, where did the rest of Paper go?" Iain said. He was talking to James's manager. I didn't miss the frosty tone he gave when talking about Paper. Stressed, frosty and uncertain were the words I would describe the 'relationship' between Iain Wright and Rose's sister organisation.

"They left one." He motioned toward the base of the post. Standing behind it was a figure in black which was why I didn't see him (or her), before. That figure took a step forward into the light.

This woman was pale. She had a mane of black hair with glasses with large lenses. Dressed in a black suit jacket, matching skirt and a blue ruffled blouse she looked like she meant business.

Nodding her head as if she was counting how many of us were supposed to be here and how many actually arrived, she spoke. "My name is Mariah Fox, one of the senior executive managers at Paper. I oversee all of the projects that Paper conducts." She held out her hand toward me. "It's very nice to meet you."

I took her hand. "Hello." What else is there to say?

"As your colleague said, there's just me. The people you saw earlier were part of the managing department." Mariah said. "They're there to catch up on what has happened since the last time they were here."

"So? What's happening now?" James said.

Mariah pointed to a corner of the park, just behind the apartment building. It was a large vault door, the kind you imagine for bank vaults. I never really noticed it before. Heck, I've been here for more than two years and never noticed that.

"It leads to a labyrinth." Mattie said with a hint of reluctance. "That labyrinth leads to Paper and Gold. Only a select number of people and vampires know the way."

 _Talk about security freaks._

I looked at him. He was a statue. Well, shit. If I can't figure out if I'm leaving him on a happy note, I'll regret it. And if a vampire tells me their impression of Mattie… fuck off.

Iain was the same. He was staring at Mariah with narrowed eyes. I can't read his face at all.

Cindy's outburst brought me back to the issue at hand. "Goodbye, Rose! May you miss us while we're away!" In another frilly dress, this time a black one, she looked like she was dressed for another occasion.

She was waving frantically at the building behind us that had its lights blazing like the sun in outer space.

The next thing she did was run at me to give me a bear hug. Shocked, I stumbled back against Mattie for stability. "Cindy?" My voice sounded weird shocked. It was breathless.

"Let's be friends, Alice! We have six months together!"

"S-Sure." I gave her a half smile. It would have been a smile I used when I'm using Lucy's identity but I was still in awe at her sudden appearance in front of me. It reminded me that Mattie was still a vampire even though he doesn't need to be fed often.

 _It's how superior they are in every way._

Once she released me, I looked back. Rose was a second home to me.

 _I just have to find what happened in Mattie's past and I'm back._

I gave a smile to Iain before Cindy took my hand and lead me to a car that was waiting for us in the cover of darkness.

I waved at Mattie unable to give him a proper goodbye. Was that one? I hope he's okay with me leaving things like this.

The door of the car was already open. It looked like Mariah was our chauffeur rather than our… guide? Driver? Host? Whatever she was, she was standing behind the open car door waiting for us to get in. James was already inside, sat on his phone in the back passenger seat.

The assumptions was annoying me. "Bye Mattie, Iain!" I called. "I'll see you when I get back!"

Cindy pushed me into the car but I heard Mattie yell, "You'll be back, I'll make sure you do!"

Mariah shut the door and shortly later we drove off through that huge bank vault lolking door.

All I could do was stare at Mattie through the window.

Am I going to lose him again?


	22. Chapter 20

Sorry for the delay in updating!  
I've noticed that there's no break where I've made a new paragraph so from now on, I'll be using lines.

 **CHAPTER TWENTY**

It's dark. It's so dark I can't see a thing. It feels like the darkness is closing in around me. I'm getting claustrophobic. I can't breathe.

What was the last thing I did?

How did I even get here?

Did Iain send me here?

Where is everyone?

"Caim?" I whispered. My brother always comes for me. He beats up the bad people, the bad people who bully me.

I was surrounded in darkness. He wasn't coming. There was no sign and no signal.

"Caim!" I shouted. Maybe he didn't hear me. Again, nothing.

"Iain? Mattie?" I continued to yell.

 _Shit. Am I alone?_

"Mattie!" I got desperate. Panic bubbled away in my stomach, "Where the fuck are you?"

But then I hear dripping in this darkness. It mingled with the sound of my loud breathing.

 _Where's it coming from? There's only me here._

 _Me?_

I looked at my hands. They were covered in blood.

 _What the fuck? Is it mine?_

I stared at them. I swallowed. I ran a finger down my other hand.

 _It's not mine. Whose blood is it?_

* * *

"Alice!"

I woke with a startle. Was I awake? The surroundings were just as dark.

Beside me was Cindy with a concerned look on her face. James, who was just behind her (as she was sat between us), was still on his phone but wasn't tapping or scrolling. I caught him looking at me from the corner of his eyes. He quickly continued with whatever he was doing on it.

We were still in the car. _Shit, did I say something weird?_

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I breathed. Ran my fingers over my face and hair and took a few breaths in the process. They were damp. "Where are… we?"

We were in a tunnel with that dim lighting on the ceiling that shone a deep orange. Many branches passed us. Sometimes Mariah, who was driving, would turn left, right then straight on for a length of time before turning again. It all looked the same even though we were moving.

How long was I sleeping for?

"It's been nearly three hours." Mariah said, looking in the mirror at us.

 _Three hours? What the fuck?_

"How long does it normally take to get to Paper?" I asked.

"About eight. Nine if we have any wrong turns."

 _Well, shit._

* * *

A huge vault door greeted us when we arrived. Mariah slowed the car to a stop and I was finally glad to get the chance to stretch out my legs.

Looking back just gave me the view I was staring at for hours.

I felt a clap on my back. "Stop looking back." It was James. He faced forward as if he was giving me a pep talk. "It's too late for that. If you want to return, move forward on your own feet."

He was right. There was only one way now.

There was a small scanner next to this vault. As soon as Mariah got out of the car she headed toward it. She placed her hand on the scanner and after some confirmation, clicks could be heard coming from the vault.

I couldn't see what was on the other side immediately. But it was bright. White light flooded the tunnel floor and we all stood back as if it got on us, we'd be hurt. Or something like that.

Halfway open, the scene before me was breathtaking.

The smell was immediate. Grass, not just fake grass like at Rose, but real grass. I don't know I just found it weird that real grass would grow underground with artificial light.

It was a field under the light of a bright and clear day. The type of scenery you'd expect on a photograph.

But right in the middle, a little ways away from the vault and seated in what looked like a dip in the field of grass, was a glass building. It looked circular but I couldn't see really see as the reflections of the glass blinded me.

"Welcome to Paper, Rose. I hope your stay here is a happy one."

* * *

Paper's history is a bit sketchy. Rose's archives say that it existed before Mattie founded Rose.

 _It feels weird. Mattie founding Rose. One moment I'll forget it and in the next moment, I'll be shocked that he did._

There was also next to nothing about it.

It _looked_ modern. Far more modern than Rose with its floor to ceiling glass walls. You could see everything, the people talking, people walking about, some with books, folders, even cases.

As we headed closer I could see the structure. Paper's entire building was buried below the level of the grass field.

No one said anything. Maybe they were just as awestruck like I was.

Mariah took us inside where the structure of Paper became clearer. It was a doughnut.

Hanging in the centre of Paper were silver diamond shaped ornaments that doubled as lights. Some people, _humans,_ stared at us as we walked past, some nodded toward Mariah but they didn't talk directly to her. I barely recognised anyone as being vampires. Paper is built up of humans?

I could see below me several floors. Right at the bottom I could see even more people walking around. Noises of them talking among themselves echoed around Paper along with the faint sound of lift music playing in the background.

Leaning against the railing of the inner circumference, Mariah turned to address us.

"There is no reception here at Paper so there's no need to check in or anything like that." _Wow, straight to the point._ "This floor is called the 'Observation deck', for obvious reasons." She extended a hand to indicate the view below. "The first five floors below the Observation deck are apartments. Below that are the various labs and offices and right at the very bottom is where we keep the archives. The floor that you can see is actually the ceiling."

 _Okay, remember this!_

"I'll show you to your rooms soon." Mariah continued but was interrupted by Cindy who raised her hand.

"What will we be doing here?"

Mariah faced her and eyed her like she had grew another head. "Nothing. This is an appearance to Rose to show that we're following the terms of our sisterly bond which is ruled by Gold."

I stood staring at her in shock. _You tore me away from Mattie and Iain to do nothing for six months? How dare you!_

The shock subsided to be replaced by anger, upset then some other feelings took over like despair.

But James's words kept me sane. " _If you want to return, move forward."_

"Why don't we reword that?" I said. "What do you expect us to do?" _Because if you say 'nothing', I think I might explode?_

But then another thought passed through my mind. _They specifically asked for me. Don't they have something for me?_

"There's quite a few things we need to check and we can only do that with Rose members." Mariah nodded toward James and Cindy. "You'll get info on that in a few days. Most of it has to do with decisions on the field and combat." James frowned.

 _Something wrong, James?_

Cindy wrapped her arms around me. Not knowing what to do, I smiled and put an arm around her. Cindy seemed to attach herself to me more so now we were here.

"As for you, Alice," Mariah nodded at me. "We need to verify some personal details with you."

 _What the fuck does that mean?_

I stared at her with a face that I hope said, 'what'. But she didn't seem to read it.

"I'll show you to your room. Since there isn't a set reason why you're here other than following Gold's word, it's up to you to understand what's expected of you by being at Paper and to keep yourselves busy."

Mariah took us to a set of glass lifts that ran down the inner circumference. Two ran alongside each other. Two ran on the opposite side.

On the second floor under the Observation deck, the fourteenth door on our left was a door that opened to our home for the next six months.

The main room opened to the living room. The back wall was completely glass that gave a fantastic view of the field around Paper. The light that flooded into the room showed a white modern corner sofa with a small wooden table just in front with a small plastic flower pot. A flat screen TV hung on the wall to our right with a small fireplace that looked like it ran on electric. Paintings of landscapes hung on the wall opposite the TV to fill the empty space.

To our left was a kitchen and worktop that doubled as a dining table with the look of the stools under it. A small hallway lead to two rooms either side of each other. On closer inspection they were bedrooms. Next to the kitchen was the bathroom. A small table with a flower vase on it.

James put a hand on my shoulder with a finger on his lips. Narrowing his eyes, he froze like he was trying to gauge what I was going to do. After a few moments he leaned back saying, "we're okay. No one bugged the room."

 _Of course, we're in Paper's territory now._ It should've been one of the first things I should take note of, so why didn't I?

Cindy ran around the room like a kid with a bag of sweets. "Looks like even the people here are like vampires - they like their privacy."

" _Like_ vampires?" I asked.

"Because we have increased hearing, it's very hard to not know what the people around us are doing. It's why almost all of Rose is soundproof." She headed to the window. "Humans here like their privacy. I can tell the moment I… _we_ -" Cindy indicated toward James, "stepped into Paper. I'd assume because Paper is predominantly a researching facility, they're pretty tight on what kind of information they give out."

I nodded. It made sense.

"So…" Cindy peered over at me. "Since you seem to be in the leadership position, what do you suggest we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

James sat round on one of the seats, spreading his arms. I half imagined him to cross his legs and try to explain to Cindy that it was actually his leadership position, but he didn't. "We noticed Iain Wright's impression of you, which is understandable. But I can't help but feel you'll have an advantage over us in terms of information."

My mind raced. What's he saying? Vampires know everything right? Is he suggesting I know something about Mattie? Iain said something to only me? Does he want me to be more transparent with them?

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. Even if I said Iain didn't tell me anything, James might say, "I don't believe you" or "That's bullshit." What can I say to make him think that was not the case?

Nothing.

Cindy put her hands on her hips. "It's already the first day and you're scaring Alice. What kind of man are you?"

James shrugged. "I'm just voicing out my concerns. They should be yours too, Cindy. But tell me, why are you so attached to Alice now that your manager is away?"

Now it was Cindy's turn to hesitate. I held up my hands.

"Okay, there's no need to start arguing. Let's just take the rest of the day off, away from each other if need be." I was going to add 'It's been a long trip for everyone' but that sounded generic.

"I'm going to sleep, okay? And James-" I paused to look at him, "thank you for pointing out that our apartment is a safe place to talk."

The look on his face was of shock. It was a slight glimpse into how hard vampires kept a neutral expression on their face. I was still trying to read Mattie's face but I know that look was an honest one.

I laid in a single bed in the dark bedroom, darker yet with the curtains drawn. I was going to sleep but some thoughts held it back.

I don't know what James is thinking. Was he deliberately trying to split everyone up? Did he have strong opinions of what Cindy and I do in our private time?

I don't know.

I just know I'm tired.

I need to sleep.

I'll get an answer tomorrow.


	23. Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I didn't sleep well. As night time gradually arrived I found an ache in my chest that grew and grew and-

* * *

I'm in a dark place wading through a lake that was waist deep. It's hard to move.

And it's dark. My torso is wet and the air stinks of something awful. Like the blood off meat. It catches the back of my throat. I have to keep swallowing so I don't throw up. But eventually-

I wipe my mouth, panting, fully tasting the bile.

No matter where I turn, nothing is there to guide me out of what the hell I got myself into. Everywhere I turn it looks the same.

* * *

I took a deep breath rubbing my chest as I lay on my bed. I wasn't sure what time it was, only that I was tired. A lot had happened.

I sighed. _I miss Mattie._

Cindy and James were in the next room going over possible places as to where information on Mattie's past could be if it wasn't in the archives. I only hoped it was. It didn't make sense if it wasn't and that left only Bloody Gold so if it wasn't at Paper it'll _have_ to be there. God knows where Gold's HQ is.

I should have listened in to their conversation instead of asking for the highlights later on but in that moment when they did start talking about it, that tired feeling I had about it was too hard to bare. Unfortunately Cindy sensed it and I took her offer to just rest.

I didn't realise I had been trying to keep up with the two vampires.

* * *

The next day I decided to explore the field around Paper. Although we were still trying to find out everything we could about Paper, in my book, the field around this doughnut shaped organisation was part of it too.

Now, laying on the field, just this simple action brought an ache in my chest. The grass scratched my bare arms. I could even feel it through my cotton sleeveless blouse. I didn't think of it at the time, only that I quite liked them coupled together, but the infinity scarf protected my neck too.

The light above was different too. I was told that it flickered on when it was daytime and turned completely off at night bathing everything in darkness. The only light then was from inside Paper and the single panels on the ceiling that was just a CGI of the moon slowly moving across. And this light was a light blue. Coupled with the grass, it projected a healthy environment almost like what you would expect in _The Sound of Music_ and showcased the glass of Paper to the fullest. Sometimes I could see rainbows.

But despite all the bright colour, I was used to the gradual change in that ceiling to match the weather outside. It helped me decide what clothes to wear. It helped me try not to think about Rose being underground. It helped me feel connected to the world outside. I could remember it as I closed my eyes, breathing in the air.

Until I had a sudden sense of fear chill its way all up my spine. A shadow loomed over me,forcing me to shove it in the deep recess of my brain.

I was gasping when I opened my eyes as my hands twitched for Alpha and Beta. Only to see it was Mariah with her hair draping down her shoulder bridging the gap between our faces.

"Are you alright?"

Alarmed, she leaned back putting a hand against my back for comfort but it didn't chase away the lingering cold.

 _What was that?_

My hands still twitched.

Shaking my head I said, "I'm fine."

She was standing, giving me a perfect view of what she was wearing: a white suit with a pale blue blouse. With the light above it was almost like she had a halo on top of her head.

 _Don't touch me._

"Are you sure?"

I shook my shoulders to dislodge her and in an attempt to shake off the cold.

"Yeah." Then I sighed and tried for a different tack. If I just give her one liners, she might just give me them too. I was not going to waste this opportunity. She was one of the managers, right? What did she say? Something about the relationship between Paper and Rose? The project! She'll know why the fuck Paper asked for me...

"I'm fine, really, Mariah. Sorry to scare you." I gave her an apologetic smile. It seemed to do the trick, the concern on her face just washed away.

"Were you looking for me?" I prompted, steering things back.

"Yes, actually." Mariah put her legs together and elegantly plopped herself down with her legs tucked underneath. Frankly I was amazed she was used to this scratchy grass. "I was wondering if you were settled fine here. Cindy and James looked flustered wandering about Paper. I hear they were talking a lot to a range of people."

I couldn't tell if I should be worried by that. It was obvious the two vampires would ask a lot of questions. Did Mariah think I was a weak link in Rose's armour? Was it because I was human?

I decided to go for a not fussed attitude, throwing a shrug in there for good measure. "Everything's fine. The apartment has everything we need and it's big enough for all of us." As I said that I realised I could have just ignored the last part. Oh well.

"That's good to know." Mariah said. "If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Yeah, about that… do you have a contact number?"

"Sure." We exchanged numbers.

"So," I just really needed to know why she was talking to me in the first place. "Is there anything else you needed to know?" _Should I ask first? Is it best to be direct?_

Mariah hesitated. Her lips parted as if to say something but decided against it in the next second. I could actually _see_ it on her face. It was the first look of emotion on her.

"There is an issue we came across."

I waited thinking she was going to add more because how can you not when you say something like that? "And?"

"You Rose members need to provide a blood sample every month, don't you?"

I instantly didn't like where this was going. "Something like that."

"Well, in order to continue with it here, Paper needs to send a sample of your blood back to Rose."

 _No, no, no!_

"I can't let you do that." I said it calmly and was amazed that it was calm, but on the inside I was anything but.

 _Is that true? I've never heard of it._

 _Paper just wants my blood. If I say yes, there's no telling what might happen to it or if they keep their word._

 _But what about Mattie?_

Saying his name stabbed me in the heart. _I miss him._

Would he be able to survive on the blood that was already in the blood bank?

A sharp gust of wind brought me out of my internal debate and Cindy appeared just in front of us. Dressed down in jeans and a check shirt, she looked like a different person entirely.

"Alice! Are you okay? Your breathing changed, I thought something was wrong."

She nodded at Mariah to acknowledge her.

"I'm fine." I said for the millionth time as I got up. Staring daggers at Mariah I said, "I definitely do not give consent. Rose has my donated blood so that will have to do for the time being."

Although her tone was pleasant she equally met my gaze. I couldn't help but think what the hell was going through her mind. "I hope you change your mind. If you do, you know how to contact me."

I nodded before turning my back on her to head back in. Cindy was with me all the time.

Once we were out of Mariah's earshot, she whispered, "what was that about? Is it about the sour relationship between us and Paper?"

I didn't whisper back. If anyone should be whispering, it should have been me. "I have no idea."

* * *

It's been a week since we arrived at Paper and there are a few things we've all learned. It would be troubling if we didn't even find out about anything.

One: All the rooms apart from the open planned space of the Observation Deck has been fitted with soundproof walls.

Two: The only place that all three of us can talk with a peace of mind is back in our apartment.

Three: There is no signal out of Paper from a phone (this might be a 'no signal from any electronic device from out of Paper, but we're not sure of that just yet).

Four: The Lower Deck - the floor right at the bottom when looking down from the Observation Deck - seems to be the very bottom of Paper. From my rounds of getting to know the place, everyone I've asked say that the Lower Deck is the lowest floor of them all. The vampires say otherwise.

Five: Paper seemed like it preferred the company of humans. I haven't seen a single vampire yet.

These were the points I'd made a note of mentally. There was only a short period of time when I can use the 'Sorry, I'm new here' excuse.

I sat down on the corner sofa pulling a bunch of cushions around me once I had fished out pen and paper. Let's do some recapping.

Paper is in a doughnut shape. The first floor is the Observation Deck - I drew a line and labelled it. The next five floors were accommodation, as Mariah said. I labelled that too. The rest of the floors were research labs.

I drew a small square at the top, bottom and both sides of the circle. These were the emergency exits and the stairs. I drew another square in the radius, the lifts.

A sound from the door brought me back from mini Paper… on paper. James and Cindy entered grinning like a pair of fools.

"Afternoon, Alice!" Cindy _ran_ at me, practically jumping on me to give a huge bear hug. Today she wore a dress with a massive amount of ruffles running along the edge. They made her look like a pale pink rose. I caught her on my lap. Once she straightened herself out she held me close.

Luckily James, in a simple white shirt and black jeans, was less welcoming as he got straight to the point. "We went around again. Looks like all the labs have an exit, but there's another thi-" He caught sight of my rudimentary drawing, walking the short distance to add to it. It was amazing he knew what it even was.

"As I was saying, the labs look alike and have the same exits," he drew two lines across the centre of the circle. "This is the hallway." More lines split the top and bottom semi circle evenly. "These are the labs, there are four on each side. Each room has a door for 'emergency purposes' or it's covered up completely. I'm not sure where this leads as it's locked but once Cindy and I figure out where every single camera is, then we can stalk the building fully."

"Can't you run around the place? I'm sure the cameras won't pick you up then." I said leaning back frowning.

Cindy hummed. "We could but it'll generate a huge amount of wind."

 _Ah. I didn't think of that._

"Thank you, both of you." I said leaning back to rest my head on the sofa to look at the ceiling.

 _What do I do afterwards? What would Mattie do?_

Once I said his name, an ache burst in my chest. I miss him. I miss Iain too. I never realised how much I relied on both of them for information. I think if James and Cindy were human, we probably wouldn't have even gotten this much on the layout of Paper in such a short period of time.

"Hey, Alice, have you ate anything yet?" Cindy peered at me from behind one of the cushions.

"Ah, I haven't."

"It's not good." Cindy got up to head to the kitchen. "Mattie won't like it if you come back lighter."

I couldn't help the swallow that happened. I couldn't help the blush that invaded my cheeks when she mentioned Mattie's name. Jeez, am I always going to react like this?

"I'll make you something to eat." Cindy tackled with the pans and by the loud sounds coming from her direction, it was like she was struggling.

She continued, "You shouldn't worry about Mattie, you know."

I pulled a face behind her. How the fuck did she see the expression on my face from behind her?

"I'm… heading out." James mumbled turning to leave just as Cindy said, "I know we vampires can smell what happened-"

 _Is she trying to encourage the flush on my face on purpose?_

"But we respect your privacy. Most vampires do. We won't say something unless it's needed."

"Even so," I whispered. Images of people staring at me during that security case with Sam flashed in my mind. "Just knowing they know is enough to get my brain working overtime."

Cindy turned around, with what looked like an omelette on her spatula to put on a plate. I couldn't resist it. I got up to sit on one of the stools next to the kitchen.

"I'm telling you this, and I mean it." She gave me a weird look - a serious look. I'd never seen it before. Not on Cindy. "Do not fear what other people think or say about you. The only person who can influence what you do or say is you. However when it comes to Rose… remember, Mattie is the founder. Believe it or not he does hold some influence in management."

"What?" Why was that such a shock? I sound mean reacting like that.

"Come on, now." Cindy said, "eat up."

* * *

Even though Mariah was on my contacts I had no intention of actually talking to her. It was more of a polite gesture but I knew deep down there was a lot I had to know and it was very likely that Mariah was the person for the job.

James kept disappearing on us so I asked Cindy to come along with me in a fully caffeinated state.

We were both on our way to a conference room by the sound of it having already set a date and time with Mariah via that number.

"Thanks for coming with me, Cindy." I said. There was absolutely no way in hell was I going to face Mariah alone again. It wasn't that she scared me, but it was that chill I got. It seemed obvious but I knew she would be the one organising everything. The things she would give in this little meeting would be less reliable but she was the only lead we had.

"No problem." Looking up she smiled at me. With her dress full of frills and a matching bow around her waist she didn't look like she meant business compared to my black trousers and grey t-shirt, but she would remember everything.

"Do you know where James went?" I said as we hopped onto a lift going down. There was no one in it and no one looked like they even wanted to join us, so I absentmindedly looked out the window.

Paper was beautiful. It always crossed my mind. But it was a shame about this ruined relationship.

"Not sure. But I did see him together with one of the doctors."

"What?" I was so shocked my head darted in her direction with eyes popping out. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know yet." She didn't face me but there was something about her tone that made me think she was investigating it.

I hummed. Another thing to do.

The conference room we were meant to met up was not too far from our temporary apartment. The door had a pane of glass so you could see if it was empty or not and in this case, it was occupied by the person we were meeting. Mariah was sat at the only table in the room in a black pencil skirt and matching blazer looking through a few sheets of paper with a pen in her hand. Occasionally she would tap her head with it in thought before writing something. Seated horizontally from the door we only had her profile in view. I had a brief moment of relief that she didn't have that chilling atmosphere around her. I knew the situation had changed, I was not alone and I was not being caught off guard but I couldn't help but feel relief.

Cindy looked through the glass. We were on opposite sides hoping that Mariah hadn't caught us peering through like two naughty students and one teacher. "Are you ready to enter?"

I took a deep breath. I was nervous, yes. "Yeah, we may as well get this over with." And so the door opened.

Mariah looked up from her sheets to stand up. "Alice, Cindy. I'm so glad you came."

I held out my hand, "Thank you for taking the time to see us on short notice."

She shook my hand clasping it in both of hers. "Don't worry about it. I was meaning to ask you something else too but you been me to it, Rose!"

I mentally cringed. Was it because of the blood? Was she actually going to press that forward on me again? What else could she ask me? What the fuck?

We all sat down opposite her with the table the only thing that separated us as if it actually signified the division of Rose and Paper. I did my best not to look nervous and so far I was winning but my stomach on the other hand…

"So, what was it you wanted to ask me about?"

I swallowed before answering. I would have pulled out Professional Alice but considering the scare she … that wasn't helping anytime soon. I still get unnerved thinking about it.

 _It's okay._ Logical Alice perked up looking confident even though she had no notes in her hand. _We have Cindy and nothing is going to go passed me._

"Yeah, I know it might be too late to even ask this and you've mentioned it when we arrived, but what exactly do you think we should be doing while staying here?"

"Or to rephrase that," Cindy said, "what did the other people from Rose get up to?"

Mariah didn't seem to be phased by our question almost like she was expecting it. If she was the coordinator for the previous Rose members, it wouldn't have been a surprise to her.

Sighing, she leaned over her sheets of paper. "I can't tell you what others before you have done but Gold has fingers in Paper and Rose. Although we know you don't have much to do here, we can't open those vault doors and let you back."

I was taken back. Where was she going with this? This wasn't what I was expecting and she brought up more questions.

"You mean you can't or you won't?" Cindy said. She only acknowledged one comment but with the mention of Gold, Mariah had both of our undivided attention even if this new piece of news was a lie.

"I can't. It's between Paper and I. They've signed an NDA."

 _And we didn't? Bullshit._

"What's that about Gold?" Looks like Cindy's going to be steering the conversation on my side.

"Rose hasn't said anything to you before you came here?" Frowning Mariah rummaged through her notes and passed us a sheet of paper. On it detailed the terms of the arrangement between Gold and Paper regarding hosting Rose. I didn't read all of it because I felt it would take me awhile to understand it fully, so I left it up to Cindy's memory. But from my scan, it mentioned the time period - six months, how many members to house and why. The contract was divided up into sections where it provided more information, but nothing on what Rose was supposed to be doing.

"I thought you might ask this one way or another. In front of you is a copy of our contract. It doesn't specify what we can give you and since the two organisations are two completely different, we can't really give you a job - you won't be as scientifically minded as everyone here."

 _I'm insulted._ Logical Alice crossed her arms. _Trying to sugarcoat it._

I must have pulled a disgusted face at her remark because Cindy kicked my foot under the desk. A simple and obvious action but an effective one.

"I don't mean to be rude, Rose, but it's just the way it is. Most of our researchers have been studying vampire blood for years. They know how to take it, to protect it and enhance its properties but you, on the other hand, spill it. It's a waste."

It was true. Mariah made it seem like we were violent non stop, but it was not the case. It only applied in our job, not our personalities.

I pursed my lips. As much as I wanted to say something witty and backhanded back, I didn't think I was in the position to do so. "But you didnt slap an NDA on us, or does that come later?"

"Yeah…" She looked defeated, leaning back in her chair in thought. "For this year, Gold did not send us a new copy of this year's contract so we didn't follow through with it. Gold doesn't seem to answer us when we asked three months before visiting you."

 _Communication concerns._ I noted. Logical Alice nodded with me.

 _Looks like the communication problems come from Gold which is a worry. At least we know that we're not getting special treatment._

"There isn't a Gold representative here?" I asked. I'm not sure why but I had an imagine of at least one person from Gold here to oversee the visitation. Maybe that was wishful thinking from an organisation who stayed as much in the shadows as bats in a cave.

"Oh, God no!" Now it was Mariah's turn to pull a disgusted face, laughing nervously. "Gold isn't even allowed near Paper anyway."

 _What?_

A side glance from Cindy prevented me from asking further. It didn't matter anyway, a phone started ringing.

Mariah stood up and quickly retrieved it. Taking a look at the screen she said, "I'm honestly really sorry, but I need to take this. I can rearrange the meeting of you have anymore questions." And before we could even utter a reply, she left.

"How rude." Cindy said.

"What did you make of that? And tell me about that Gold and Paper thing?"

Cindy poured over the contract. "It seems she's telling the truth. I couldn't pick up any pulses jumping or anything like that."

"Huh." I wonder what was with the change in personality. Where was the chill in my spine or the goosebumps raising the hair on my arms? Did I imagine that?

"Let's go back to the apartment, we can talk freely there."

As we were heading back in the lift, Cindy tapped my shoulder. "Look." Pointing downwards on the Lower Deck which was littered with people busying having food, I couldn't exactly see who it was she was showing me until she described him. It was James.

I could make out him talking with a woman but as the lift was going upwards, it slowly became out of focus. But just as we both noticed him, he looked straight at us.

"Who was that?" I asked Cindy. From the corner of my eye I couldn't exactly see what her expression was.

"One of the doctors he's been seen around with."

" _What?_ " I didn't even need the simple word to express my confusion.

"Yeah. I know he's been seeing her for some time now but I'm m not sure what he's thinking of so I didn't tell you until I got more information. But he smells off."

"What does that mean?" I said slowly almost making sure that each word that dropped out of my lips was the right one.

"He smells different."

I swallowed. Cindy was the best suited to figure out what James was up to so I let her deal with it.

* * *

"Where were you?" I cried out, standing in front of James who had just decided to join us back at the apartment.

It was almost seven in the morning and I was feeling sleep take its hold on me.

The light outside did nothing to indicate it was dark or even light above ground but as it was February, I could imagine it'll still be dark. Instead it flickered. A panel in the ceiling was faulty. It casted a shadow before me, so long it was touching his feet and highlighting the fact that I was alone in this room.

 _I know they're vampires and they don't need babysitting but he could at least say something._ Feels like it's not only between organisations that there is a lack of communication.

"Alice." James replied by way of a greet then proceeded to try to walk past me but I stepped in front of him every time.

I was annoyed. With there being only the three of us here, you would assume that we were in the same boat and would be weary of the people here, but apparently not.

"So?" I prompted.

"Alice, please." A short gust of wind blew past me and before I knew it, we had stumbled onto the sofa with James on top of me, saliva dripping out of his mouth threatening to bite me. On instinct I covered my neck with my forearms. I didn't know he would aim there-

"James!" I yelled when his fangs bit into my arm. My first thought was to buck him off but I didn't want any more damage to my arm. I didn't want to think about the ripping of flesh and blood dripping-

A second gust of wind blew right over me followed by something crashing quite hard against the wall. It took all of my willpower to ignore the pain from my arm and the shock to drag my eyes from the wound to see what happened. Cindy was dripping wet, a towel wrapped around her short frame and her hair a complete mess pinning James against the wall, an arm at this throat as he tried to bite her. Arms were flying. Spit flew. Fangs were drawn. Hissing vibrated the air around them.

Without a second thought I rushed into the bathroom sink, turning the taps on full blast to clean up but with a wound like this, what do I do?

My arm was shaking with the pain. Panic bubbled inside me like a volcano waiting to erupt

I quickly grabbed the first aid kit, dropping it twice in my haste letting the contents scatter the floor. I decided to do what I can and grab the alcohol.

Shouts from the next room rang out through the apartment. There wasn't a way you could _not_ hear it. I wasn't listening.

Just as I was dabbing on my wound Cindy emerged at the door. Our eyes locked.

"You need blood, Alice."

I barely heard what she said. It was getting harder to move my fingers every second it and just kept applying pressure.

"Alice!" Next thing I knew was Cindy kneeling in front of me to cup my head in her hands gently tilting my head to look at her. With her eyes a dark red.

"You need vampire blood."

"Vampire… what?"

Concerned she removed her hands and _stabbed_ her left hand with her nails on her right hand, drawing blood, almost like a parody of mine.

A flicker of what she was going to do flickered passed my mind but it was gone, so I just stared wide eyed as Cindy hovered her arm over mine and let the blood drip into my wound.

The effects were immediate. I could actually _see_ things being sewn together.

"Get some rest." She took my shoulders and guided me into my bedroom where I was promptly tucked in bed and asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

I woke sometime later, just laying in bed with my what-was-wounded arm before me as if I wanted to teach the blank ceiling.

It was gone. Every last bit of the wound had disappeared. The only way you could tell it had been there were the dry stains of blood that had rolled down my arms. When I clenched and unclenched my hand, nothing hurt. Everything seemed to be working just how it usually did.

Unlike my mind which was a ball of mess. It was cloudy when I tried to think of last night or whenever it happened. I couldn't even string a simple sentence together, much less try to see Cindy or pay much attention to James to ask him why the fuck did he attack me.

I couldn't stay here so I got out of bed to get ready for what else hit me today. But just as I entered the hallway, the scene caught my eye. The sofa had been knocked over, pillows were everywhere, there was even a large dent in the wall and floor. But it was the amount of blood that had me fixated. It stood out like a sore thumb against the white smearing it. I swallowed suddenly finding my mouth dry.

"I thought you might be up."

I was dragged from the bloody scene to a see Cindy in a monochrome dress that left her shoulders bare and looked like it was out of the fifties. It was a change from the other dresses I usually saw her in. Why the change?

"Hey." My voice came out weak almost whispering. A tiredness suddenly came over me and I didn't want to ask the most important question.

Cindy walked the short distance toward me, taking my hand in hers to inspect the damage. Or lack thereof.

"How are you feeling?"

 _Like my mind and my body are completely separate._ "I don't know how to describe it." I mumbled casting my eyes to my outstretched hand. Maybe it was the speed in which it was healed that brought no words to mind.

She sighed, dragging me to the kitchen and planting my butt on one of the stools as she busied herself among the various pots and pans. "I'm going to make you breakfast."

I couldn't help it. "You like cooking?"

She looked at me from the corner of her eye, "I did it a lot when I was a human. When I turned I couldn't remember much so I had to learn it again. It was one of the things I could do well and calmed me down so I wanted to continue with it. But it's hard when you can't really taste the food yourself."

"You were… human?" It came out wrong. I didn't want to sound shocked but it came out that way anyway.

"It was a long time ago." I guess that was the only thing she wanted to volunteer.

I didn't think about asking James or Cindy about their pasts. I didn't want to pry. I didn't think I was entitled to know about it either.

A ten or fifteen minutes later, I really didn't know, Cindy turned around with the full English breakfast much to my dismay. I wanted something light.

"Eat up." She said, passing the plate to me and sitting next to me.

I looked at her questionably but started eating anyway.

We were in silence for a bit, the only sounds being made coming from my cutlery. I honestly didn't want to be silent because then it gave me time in my thoughts. I ate only half and then found myself just rolling the food around.

"James was taking tablets."

My head shot up to Cindy looking at me, concern all over her features.

"He was going to that doctor for the tablets but they were not the finished product, more like he was being tested on so when that got into his system…"

"Blood tablets?" The words came as a whisper. Cindy's nod was even quieter.

"That's why he attacked you. Although I dislike the idea, he's recovering somewhere with Paper - Not with the same doctor, thank God." She added quickly when I was about to react.

 _Thank God, indeed._

* * *

We hadn't found any more new areas to discover. Only the place under the Lower Deck was left. We hadn't found the entrance to it yet. We also haven't seen Laura. Was she even here?

I was walking around the inner circumference back to our apartment when something caught my eye, a poster saying 'Tryouts is now open. Anyone who wants to join is welcome too! Meet at the Lower Deck at 7 o'clock for instructions on the 3rd.'

 _That's four days time!_

In the recesses of my mind, from the sound of it 'Tryouts' was like a testing thing.

So I stood with James and Cindy beside me with ten minutes before the thing was supposed to start. I was a bit apprehensive asking James to join us but as his recovery was short due to his vampire healing powers - it lasted for about a day and a half - he seemed like his usual quite self.

The Lower Deck was a cafeteria with several sets of tables under the balconies of the upper floors so you couldn't really see much looking from above. Some shrubs and hanging plants wormed their way up and down the walls. The cafeteria had their shutters down like they were sleeping.

We were with other people, about fifteen. They all clumped together like glue in the center of the room, underneath a starry night. The fake light of the moonlight casted its ominous glow on everyone making them look sinister. Even the vampires next to me seemed to look like strangers.

I was surrounded by chattering. And it felt like I was transported back to security with Sam.

I sighed. _Will I ever get used to this?_

A man in his late fifties (I assume), came up to us. Once he had cleared his throat he said, "are you sure you want to be here?" I thought he was talking to me but James answered.

"What do you mean?"

He frowned, shook his head then left to join one of the other groups.

"What was that about? Humans are so rude." I heard James mutter.

I poked him in the ribs as I gave him a narrowed look. " _I'm_ human."

"You know what I mean."

I just stared at him.

"Welcome, everyone!" A loud voice boomed throughout the deck. "I'm sure you're excited to see our newest prototype!" It came from a woman who waved her arms like crazy making her blond hair dance in the air as she walked towards our group from the lift. It was a really… weird sight.

Once here she clasped her hands.

"For those who don't know, Team Blue has developed a pill that, in theory, should 'resurrect' a human's quality of life." She even did the quote marks when she said 'resurrect'.

"If you would, can you follow me through to the OP room where our show is held."

We followed her down hallways and rooms until we all collected in one of those operating rooms that were for viewing.

It was a round room covered in chairs with a glass dome in the centre that looked down over the actual operating room fitted out with machinery.

Everyone scattered to take their seats amongst themselves. Clumps of people waited impatiently for more news on what was to happen.

Cindy grabbed my arm and dragged me to a place near the back circumference. It came as a shock that I had to look behind to make sure James was following us. I sat in the middle of them.

The woman from earlier who lead everyone here appeared just before the dome.

"Resurrecting quality of life?" James murmured as he rubbed his chin.

"What do you think?" I whispered. Everything pointed to something taboo.

"Considering the Bloody nature…" Our eyes met which could only mean one thing.

 _Okay, let's take pictures of this shit._

Below in the operating room, a set of metal double doors were pushed open by a metal bed with a man lying on it draped in white fabric. It was pushed by two people, one in front and behind. In silence they heaved him onto the bed in the centre of the room. The light from our room casted its glow downwards so there was no mistaking what was happening below.

I wasn't sure if it was because of the angle we were watching this God forsaken show or because of Mattie's blood running in my veins, that meant I could see every detail. This man looked like he was sleeping. The fabric slowly flapped in the little breeze that was made by the doors closing behind him. The two assistants then left the room the way they came in.

I had to wipe my hands on my jeans. The nervous of wondering what was going to happen were getting to me.

Moments later the double doors opened again to let a team of six people in. Dressed in white overalls, white matching masks to cover their mouths, and those poofy hats that look like shower caps, they were meant for business.

I leaned over to whisper in Cindy's ear, "what do you think about that guy on the table?"

"Sleeping. There's no doubt in my mind."

As one the assistants or nurses started pressing buttons on the machines, pulling wires, tubes and attaching them to the sleeping man. In all the fuss, one had pulled off the white fabric and to my surprise he was naked underneath. Not once did he flinch. Pretty soon the guy was all wired up.

I had a sick feeling in my stomach. Looking around everyone seemed to be glued to what was happening below. Cindy was like me. Her hands were on her lap pressed tightly together. James, on the other hand, leaned back in his seat as if he was in a meeting. He was giving that dome his undivided attention.

Below someone had raised an arm in the air then toggled with his shower cap. Seconds later a voice boomed.

"Hello." Shit, that monotone voice almost had my soul jumping out of my skin! "I'm glad that many of you could attend tonight. I'll get straight to the point so our patient won't wake up." A part of me had that fake smile plastered on her face because she didn't really know what to say to that.

"Our patient unfortunately has a rare form of blood cancer. He has agreed to undergo this operation which would drastically improve his quality of life."

I felt Professional Alice wrap her arms around my shoulders, her head lightly on mine. _They should stop saying that and just show us._

"We are going to start the operation."

A low murmur swallowed the second of silence that followed the end of his sentence. It ran a chill up my spine.

After a few checks from everyone, the man who spoke earlier (I'll just call him the leader), waved his arm toward someone who was near the door where there was a control panel there I hadn't noticed before. On cue, the guy flicked a switch and instantly clamps secured the sleeping patient to the bed. Whatever this thing was, it was going it be violent, I could feel it.

The leader then had something in his hand, a syringe full with a red liquid that looked like blood. He took the two steps to cover the short distance and then gave the patient the liquid through his arm. Instantly the patient screamed.

 _Shit!_ I was stuck on my chair with the hairs standing up everywhere. There was an ache in my heart that was just waiting for this piercing wail to stop. It kept going and going…

Until the leader waved his arms in the air toward the double doors. Something was seriously wrong.

 _Rule one: Do not mix human and vampire blood together! Is this what the fuck happens? But isn't the blood mixed with vampire blood?_

Immediately everyone started running. My mouth was dry. I shot a glance at James and Cindy. James was shaking his head as if he had high hopes in this. Cindy couldn't even look.

But I did.

The patient was thrashing around but the clamps held him back. Monstrous expressions rippled through his face until eventually-

The dome was splattered in blood. Cries rang out through the audience.

"What is this?"

"I thought were were going to see a successful operation!"

 _People here wanted to see something successful?_ I thought shocked. _What the fuck is wrong with people!_

"Alice…" Cindy looked at me with teary eyes. "Alice, I don't want to see anymore. Can we go back?"

I had to swallow a few times before I could reply, "I'm going." I grabbed her hand and pulled her off the seat. It took me a few times to help her on her feet, it was like they were jelly.

I turned to James as I slung one of CIndy's arms around my shoulders. "Are you coming too?"

He shook his head. "I need to check something. I'll meet you back at the apartment, alright?"

I would have said something like 'like the fuck you are', or 'what the fuck are you planning', but I just narrowed my eyes at him. I think he got what I wanted to say to him.

"Remember, Alice, we're on the same team here."

I sighed. "Well don't take too long."

* * *

With Cindy's help, we retraced our steps and managed to get home. It was only when the door was locked shut when I said, "What do you think he's doing?"

"I think he's trying to find something." I helped her toward the sofa and dropped her there. "There was something odd with that dome. I could feel something was off but I'm not too sure what it was."

I sighed. " _Everything_ about Paper is fishy." I sagged on the seat next to her. "I miss Rose. Paper's just too… secretive. It's very intimidating."

Then Cindy burst forward in her seat. It alarmed me.

"What?"

She frowned, looked at me then she _disappeared_.

"Cindy?"

"It's okay, Alice!" She called. _Shit, she used her speed… for a bloody drink!_ In her hand was a glass three quarters full with blood from the fridge.

"Don't fucking do that!" I sighed.

"Hey," It was James's voice that rang in my ears. "I found the entrance under the Lower floor."

* * *

Later, after I had a bit of a nap, Cindy and I waited for James on the Lower Deck. Sat on one of the chairs, we were taking it slow and easy. The remnants of what I felt seeing that 'tryout' hadn't disappeared after my nap. Every time I blinked flashes of the glass being fully covered in splattered blood popped up bring back the emotions I felt when I killed Harding. The despair, the silence, the panic and every single bad thought threatened to burst forward. I would not let it. When we first arrived here, the two vampires could sense there was something off about the atmosphere at Paper. It was there at Rose but it was nowhere near as unnerving. This, I was actually scared of.

According to what I could remember when Mariah sort of gave us a little tour, she said the archives were below. Where it was possible that Mattie's past was being held.

The corridors were void of people. Above us, the synthetic moonlight made everything below look haunting. The ornaments that usually glittered reflected the moonlight almost blinding me as if it was the sun.

"Where are you?" Cindy said. It was mainly for James's sake as we couldn't see him anywhere on the floor. She looked jumpy.

"I'm coming now."

"Don't shock us when you get here, okay?"

James sighed loudly, "Sure."

After a beat, I touched her arm, "are you okay?" I may not know her as well as Mattie or Iain but right now she and James were the only two people I can trust.

Cindy's pale eyes looked at me but it was as if she was looking past me at the same time. "What happened back there…"

"-was something that should have never happened." James interrupted.

"James, please." I hushed him. Cindy wasn't fine. If a vampire could have paler skin, Cindy had it now. He couldn't see it. Right now we could only trust each other until we got back to Rose.

So I worded my next words carefully. "Is it something we can help you with?"

Cindy sighed, the breath turning into condensation. "It's just what happened back there reminded me of something I thought I was over with."

 _You too?_

Although I was trying to help her, if Cindy was going to tell me about her past, I was not mentally prepared to take it on. Even if it was all said and done in the past.

I couldn't even utter the nicer words of 'you can talk to me if something happens or if anything comes to mind'.

So when I saw James slowly making his way toward us from the lifts, I was relieved but at the same time I didn't want to ruin Cindy's moment of need. I'm a mess.

"Do you smell that?" He asked Cindy. His eyes which turned red looked guilty at me for a second almost like he regretted saying it.

She took a deep breath leaning back against her chair so it was on two legs. "What am I looking for?"

"It's old. Kind of rusty."

We both waited as she closed her eyes continuing to take deep breaths, each one deeper than the rest. When she finally opened them, they were red.

"I smell it. It's very faint, but it's there."

"Right. Now, remember that smell."

We followed James back through to the operating theatre. I was keeping an eye on Cindy who was lagging behind so I offered my hand, (and arm), to help coax her along.

Not once did we see anyone from Paper. It was eerily quiet, even for the vampires. James, who was ahead of us, kept looking around the corners as if he had a gun in his hand.

"Hey," I whispered to no one in particular, both would have heard it anyway. "What do you think Paper were planning on doing if that…" My voice faltered for Cindy's sake. From the corner of my eye, her whole face tensed up. "...if it was successful?"

James looked calmly back at me from the door. His hand was on the post with white knuckle force so strong I could hear the material straining against his power. "They're R&D. Experiments between humans and vampires is the life of Paper. The fact that there is a close knit connection between both is what keeps Paper alive. As long as there is a human and vampire alive, Paper will continue to function."

I swallowed. It came out loudly. It was wrong on so many levels even if there was a piece of paper you signed.

"There's also another thing." James turned around fully to face me and the clinging Cindy. "The anonymity. The fact that Paper moved and didn't tell Rose of the new address gave them a reason to do what they liked."

"But we're here now." I said. "We're unravelling what they're doing."

"It took us time, but we're nearly there, yes. I'm just worried about what's going to happen in the future."

What he said reminded me of what Iain told us before.

"Have you two seen any? The people who were from Rose that are now here?"

"No." The voice was weak. And it came from Cindy. She straightened but her determination didn't quite reach her red eyes though.

"I haven't seen Kate yet. I can't even smell her here."

Paper's wraith hung in the air. The possibility of having no future or not being able to return to Rose almost was my future.

 _I want to see Mattie. I miss him._

"Well, staying here isn't going to solve it." James said, nodding at me.

I nodded too in acknowledgment. _We have to move forward._

* * *

Around the back of the theater there was a set of double doors I hadn't seen. Through them we passed many corners, hallways to end up in a place that Cindy said smelt strongly of that old blood.

We were in a large room that was almost bare of any furniture. Apart from a set of chains hanging from a hook in the wall next to yet another set of doors.

It was dark with no windows and lit only by candles hanging from the ceiling.

"It's through here." James said as he pushed the door open.


	24. Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I never saw so many of them in one place. It took my breath away.

We emerged in a what looked like a warehouse that was as large as the eye could see - or even more so.

Dozens upon dozens of hospital beds were laid out, spread out throughout the huge room. Each had a little walkway. The type of bed that was all railings and no padding. They were all connected up and the tubes all snaked around the walls, seemingly all merged together and through the left side of the concrete wall where I could see a door slightly ajar.

What's worse was what was on each bed - a person.

Human?

No.

Vampire.

"All of them…" Cindy breathed. "I have never seen a vampire like this before."

I haven't either. There are so many things that they can do compared to a human and yet the sight before me… to see _however many there were_ in this fucking vampire free organisation, feared me.

 _What kind of powers does Paper have to be able to put a vampire in this state?_

"What the hell is Paper hiding?" I whispered.

I know I shouldn't but I walked between beds. I had this sinking feeling that if I did, I could understand what the fuck this fucked up place is doing because if I ever, _ever,_ saw Mattie in that state, I'd probably knock some sense into them.

James stayed behind to hold the doors open. "This is where that old bloody smell came from."

Each vampire looked fragile. They were skin and bones. They needed blood to regenerate.

A hand touched the tubes. Cindy's.

"This is blood."

"They're being drained of blood?" I exclaimed. Ironic.

"Yes." She looked grave. She didn't look like her bubbly self at all. "There's little research on what happens when a vampire cannot heal. We're in uncharted territory but I know one thing:" Her eyes found mine. "They will not attack you in this state."

I swallowed. Looked at Cindy's serious face, hearing her tone, looked at the 'near to dead' beings surrounding us.

Despite their superiority, these vampires need us.

As we made our way passed all the beds toward the ajar door once Cindy gave the 'okay' that no one was present there too, a strangely familiar face caught my eye.

I'd seen her in books and photographs during my studies but never in a million years would I believe that meeting her face to face was possible.

I heard Cindy's intake of breath. She recognised this girl right in front of me too.

Amanda King. The Amanda King that went missing. No, that description didn't really justify her. The pure blood and very young Amanda King.

"This is where she went." I whispered.

"You're… you're taking pictures this, right?" Cindy said.

I nodded. I was taking pictures of everything even if it looked like nothing. I reasoned with myself saying, 'the more pictures I took, the less I would miss.'

"We have to do something about this."

"Yes, but we have to complete our original mission." _Find out what we can on Mattie._

A garbled gasp took a hold of the young girl's body. I jumped back, almost grabbing Alpha and Beta in my shock. Cindy gave me a look that said, 'put it away'. Damn.

Amanda's eyes looked tired as if they were sick of the world.

"Mama?"

Because I was close to her, I decided to hold her hand. That was the right thing to do. Right?

I leaned in close to her and in the softest voice I could muster I said, "Amanda, can you hear me?"

Her eyes found mine and she nodded.

"Please don't be alarmed. I'm Lucy Henderson. This-" I motioned toward Cindy, "This is Angela Fox. We're both from Bloody Rose."

Amanda's eyes followed my gesture then rested with me. Maybe it was because if she wanted to look at Cindy, we'll need to adjust her seating.

"I know your name from another vampire who told me about your family."

At the sound of 'family', Amanda closed her eyes tightly. It looked like she was going to cry. I wouldn't blame her. In human terms she looked five years old but considering the story of her disappearance was about thirty years ago…

"Hey, it's okay." Cindy went around to the other side and patted her head. "We'll help you get back to your family."

She relaxed. I was glad I saw that look of peace on her face for someone who had suffered so much for so long. Even more so when she was without her family and only knew a world of… pain.

"Do you know where you are?" I asked.

Amanda shook her head.

"You're in Bloody Paper right now."

"Do you know what happened to you before you came here, Amanda?" Cindy asked.

"I… don't know." It was a plea. "I want Mama."

"Sh…" I said, rubbing her thin hand with my thumb.

"We'll help you and everyone get out." I said but for some reason she didn't look convinced so I took off my scarf. "I'll leave this here so you remember I'll be back for it, for you." I put the scarf in her hand.

"We'll put it under your pillow so no one will know how you got it, okay?" Cindy said. Once she got a nod as an answer, Cindy took a step to her right so she was behind Amanda and gave clear and concise instructions on how she was going to lift up her pillow. In this state, I guess she didn't want to cause any more harm to the frail looking girl who was laid out in front of us.

We hid the scarf and left a bit ner her hand so she could reach it easily.

"Alice, Cindy." It was James through the mic reminding us to get a move on.

"Amanda, we have to go now. I'll be back for that scarf, remember?"

A smile pushed up the corners of her mouth. "Okay."

"Bye." It was all I could say before Cindy ushered me away.

"This _has_ to end. I fucking hate blood farms." I heard Cindy hiss.

 _This is a blood farm?_

I had heard of them briefly from my studies. Humans would be lured and kidnapped. They would then be grouped together just like every single vampire here, all wired up with tubes to drain their blood. In the old days the blood would be used for transfusion purposes, before people decided to volunteer.

But for this farm to be a vampire one… this was a rare sight.

 _What is Paper doing with the vampire blood?_

The room that the ajar door lead to was a control room but it didn't look like it was for the blood.

In this rectangle room, a control panel in the far right corner took up most of the room, complete with three stools. It overlooked the next room with a window to connect the two, the type the police had for interrogations. I could see that in that room, the walls were white and padded.

"What do you reckon this is for?" I said, marvelling the amount of buttons on the panel. There must be something written on this to provide me a clue.

"I'm not sure." Cindy said. She was looking through the window as if there was something important happening. But it was empty.

From this angle I could see a door in that room, adjacent to the door we had just came through.

There was nothing on the panel that told me what this was for. Frustration took a hold of me. After everything we'd been through, all we found was that Paper harboured a blood farm? And we didn't know the reason either.

"Is that it?" I said. I couldn't keep it out of my voice.

Cindy gave the room a once over. Her hand traced the wall as she did. Her footsteps echoed throughout the small room. I wouldn't have been surprised if the vampires in the next room would have heard. It was eerily quiet.

Perfect for jump scares.

"From what I know of Paper the only way they can go is down." She walked over to a corner of the room, a corner hidden by the panel and kicked the floor. The sound it made rang around the room. Hollow.

"No one's there but just be careful of cameras."

There was no latch or anything on this hollow tiled plate. Once again if I had a human with me as a partner, I don't think either of us would have found this trapdoor. I highly doubted that we would have walked over it either.

Kneeling over, I took the nail file from a nail clipper and ran it around the edge to see. It was one of the only things that people are Rose carried around that was _considered_ as harmless. Plus the fact that most people overlook this little tool. I only hope it stayed that way.

It seemed to give but I froze once a thought flashed in my mind.

"Are you sure this ain't booby trapped or what?"

Cindy nodded with a serious expression on her face. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

 _Although I should really try relying on my own once in awhile._

I wiggled the file and pried the tile open. How was a guy supposed to open this knowing that there was a trapdoor here?

A tunnel with a ladder lead a long way down to darkness. I couldn't really see anything at the bottom.

"I don't see or hear anything strange." Cindy mused. "Although I do hear the sound of several computers so it could lead to a server."

"Stay here." I said. "I'll go down. I need your range of hearing to give me a bit more time to get out if I need to."

"Are you sure? I could go down and be here in a few seconds."

"I'm sure." I can't help but get the feeling that the archives were somewhere downstairs. Anywhere downstairs.

"I'll keep you posted then." Cindy said. "I'll stay in this room though."  
"Got it." There was barely any cover in the blood farm. "James, are you keeping up?"

"Yes. You're splitting up. Be careful."

I nodded at Cindy as I descended the ladder.  
 _Shit, it's cold. If it there is a server here, they have the right conditions to store one._

Something flashed from beneath me. _Damn, what was that?_ I froze. But nothing happened so maybe it was in my mind?

But it happened again once I descended a few steps. There was _something_ here.  
 _Cindy said there was no one down here. Get your head into gear, Alice!_

I went down anyway. I trusted Cindy despite the short time we've known each other.

As it turned out there was a motion sensor that lit the limited space up like a tree. Not all of it was lit though. The section I was in was lit. Further down was a different story.

There was a glass wall on my right showing a room with three large tanks dominating one side of the room. There was a door on the far side but it was closed.

 _Is that where all the blood is going?_

I told Cindy and James what I saw who both acknowledged.

Further down the line, a seriously large room welcomed me. Rows and rows of red blinking lights flashed like stars in the darkness just telling me they were there.  
"It's the server room."

I hung on the ladder where I could lean and peer over at the whole room from ceiling height. The computers were stacked higher than I was, a good head taller. Similar to the farm above, there was a walkway between every computer. Some wires connected each of them, some were on the floor, some even over the tops.

I couldn't see a camera in this room…  
I hope there's no cameras in this room…

"Lucy?"  
I was shocked so much I nearly pulled out Alpha and Beta. Again.

Cindy's voice boomed in my ear. Damn I forgot I had the earpiece and the contact.

"Lucy? Are you okay there?"

Looking up I could see how far I was from Cindy. I didn't really know why I did it. I couldn't see from up there, why should I see her from down here?  
"Yeah," I whispered. "Can you see through my contact?"

"Just a sec."

A twitch in my eye forced me to blink. When I opened it again, I could see the control panel. Cindy's perspective!

"Can you look around the room again for me, please?" I did what she asked. "For a server room, they sure don't have much security." She said. "Just remember that there might be sensors on the floor or something like that, I can't really pick up from up here."

"Okay."

Gingerly, I made my way down. Nothing happened when I stepped on the ground. It's a bit weird having one eye looking at the surrounding and another in the room above so I closed the eye that was connected to Cindy.

"Doesn't look like anything happened." Cindy said. "But I suggest you look around fast and get out. If need be, I'll pick you up."

I started walking through one of the walkways. "Right."

 _I've never seen so many computers in one room before. Not even in the IT room at uni._ But having said that, that was a futile comparison.

They all looked the same too and in this darkness, it took me a while to realise I was walking between metal cabinets, the ones that you see in offices containing files.

"Are these… the archives?" I whispered.

"Open one up."

The cabinet in front of me said it had 'W-Z'. I suppose it meant surnames.

It was unlocked. A bunch of dividers welcomed me along with the associated names.

"Look for Taylor." Cindy said.

I didn't need to be told. I had that butterfly in my stomach feeling that we'll finally know why humans and vampires had differing opinions about Mattie.

I'm on edge. I'm excited.

It took me a while to finally find the right cabinet. A few more seconds and I was looking through the surnames beginning with 'T'.

Tae.

I skipped ahead.

Tailor.

Tate.

Taylor!

I mentally gave myself a little dance.

Taylor, Anabelle

Damn.

"There!" Even Cindy had some excitement in her voice. "Go further… yes, that way… nearly there…"

I see it too!

I took it out. Matthew Alistair Taylor's file was thin. Surprisingly thin considering how old he was. Almost like it had just a few sheets.

"I'm sorry, Cindy. I'll have to turn you off." Thank God I can have the first peek at his… whatever is in this.

"Alright." I thought she would have argued. Strange. So I squinted and turned off the camera in my contact. The view from the room upstairs cleared up to be replaced by what I saw I saw in front of me.

There was no time to lose. I opened it and started taking pictures of it and made sure I got everything, every little piece of detail that was in my hands, I took a picture of. Who knows when I'll have this same folder in my hands.

I did vaguely wonder about reading the photos in this light but some weird white circle appeared in my vision. Just before the image was taken, it flashed. I suppose that was the flash on it.

But it was… the things in this folder… how do I describe it? Gruesome. If I understood it correctly.

There was the usual stuff, the profile of Mattie including his date of birth, parents, if he had any siblings, occupation along with a picture of the man, but on the second page… there was a few papers there held together with a paperclip that said, "Top secret. Mission: Apricot" It was a bundle of pictures, together with some reports from some people I didn't recognise.

It told of a story of when Mattie was human.

The shock I felt when I read this almost stopped me from continuing.

He was married and his wife was pregnant with his first child. But when she was three months down the line, Mattie found out he had cancer. Worried that he wouldn't be able to see the eyes of his child, he sort help from an unlikely means.

 _Mattie… married. It's a weird… fact…_ my chest felt heavy as I read it. I know it happened way before I was even born but...

Professional Alice stirred. _Do you remember before when Iain showed you that photograph at the office? That photo was taken in 1875! Mattie's at least 140 years old! Clearly he had a life before you so get your head in the game!_

She was right. I shook my head and carried on.

Carrying on, some men who call themselves 'Chi', took Mattie in and they experimented on him.

The pictures showed me everything I needed to know about what happened that day. Mattie was out cold on the table in a operation room.

 _Thank God it looks professional enough_.

They suspended his body in the air, supported by several plastic tubes connected to different places of his body and drained all the blood from his body.

 _Shit. This is gruesome shit right here. And to think it happened to him! Does Mattie really want to know this?_  
Then they pumped him with new blood.

 _What's special with this blood?_  
I scanned the reports that coupled with the photos.

I almost choked on my own saliva.

Vampire blood! And not only any vampire blood, but blood from a pure blood vampire!

"Holy shit!"  
"It's that bad?" Cindy said. In my quest for knowledge, I forgot she was still there.

"Yeah."

"Tell me when we're in the okay."

 _Where did they get the pure blood from though? Surely not from a blood farm..._  
"Alright." As for the rest, I continued taking photos, put the whole file back and headed toward the ladder out of this shit, silent room.

There was only one thing left: This organisation had a connection to vampires and their society. It's a bit unclear as to what their aim was and why they needed someone like Mattie, that was one thing I was definitely interested in knowing.

* * *

"What took you long?" Cindy said as I poked my head out of the tunnel. She even had to haul my sorry ass out of the tunnel, I was just so tired and weak.

I feel sick.

I don't understand. It didn't happen to me.

I clutched my stomach. _Please, please, please don't throw up…_

 _It's because you love Mattie._ Professional Alice said.

I collapsed on top of the trapdoor when Cindy closed it.

"I just need a rest." I panted.

 _To replace all the blood in your body… who the fuck thought of that idea?_

Cindy surveyed me. What was she thinking?

On second thought, I don't really care.

Once I finally got my breathing back under control I motioned for us to get the fuck out of this place. I think that once I was away from Paper's archive, I can do some actual thinking of my own.

* * *

I lied.

Sort of.

The first thing I did when I got back was get into bed, curl up on a fetal position and sleep.

* * *

 _Am I awake?_

It's dark. There was no moonlight.

I could swear that the window was in this direction...

I can't see an arm's length in front of me.

I walked and walked and walked, but I just couldn't feel anything in front of me.

 _Where am I?_

"Cindy?" I shouted.

I didn't get a reply.

"James?"

Still nothing.

"Mattie? Iain?"

Nothing.

Then I felt something slimy in my outstretched hands. Something thicker than water. It pooled and dripped on the floor. I didn't know what the hell it was but I wiped it on my clothes.

Fear gripped me. There was a huge lump in my throat. I started breathing rapidly. My hands got sweaty.

"Mattie!" I screamed.

* * *

"Alice, holy shit, wake up!"

I was jerked awake by James who had both hands on my shoulders and a concerned look on his face

I was sweaty. I was panting.

 _What was that?_

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" _I think._ "Bad dream I guess."

"You guessed right! You were moaning pretty badly in your sleep."

I ran a hand over my forehead and into my hair. "I think… I think I'll be okay now, James."

"Are you sure? You don't really want to talk about this bad dream?"

"I'm sure. Sorry I interrupted you." But as I said that he was shaking his head.

"Glad I was here."

I yawned before laying back down. "I'm fine really, James."

* * *

The next day, I pulled the images up thanks to the contact.

Continuing where I left off: I learnt that Chi had experimented on even more people before. I think it was only mentioned because Mattie was their only success. But whatever the reason, they were pretty protective of Mattie.

 _Just wait, Rose. Just wait till you hear this, Iain, Sam._

But there was another question: Why the blood farm?

 _Are they recreating the same thing?_

That idea didn't excite me. Amanda was there for thirty years, were they doing the same thing for thirty years? If that's true, holy shit! That's wrong on so many levels!

 _Why are they hosting a blood farm when it's against their own rules?_

Cindy and James came up to me. I suppose they wanted to know what the information was. I would.

"You want to know what Mattie's history is like?" I asked.

"It would clear up some misconceptions that even Mattie himself doesn't know." James said. "It also helps if you have a fresh mind to it. I'm pretty sure you have a million questions running around in that head of yours, most humans do."

So I told them. Was it possible to be even paler when you're a vampire?

Their expressions were just like mine. The slightly wide eyed stare, the slightly sucked in cheeks and the fuller chest… I saw it, all the signs that they were shocked about it.

"Why don't we take a few days off." Cindy offered. "I mean, we could use the time to try and get our head around it and it's not really good to continue feeling like this."

She was right. I better try and get my head around this, it'll be better for everyone.


	25. Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I did the most unlady like thing and spat my drink all over the table in our apartment as I sat in the center of the corner sofa.

"What?"

"Mattie's coming here! You know Rose has to check up on their members if they're sort of… out of reach."

I just stared at James who said that casually. He'd just came out of the shower, a towel draped on his shoulders, half covering his hair. I only thanked God that he was wearing jeans.

"So Mattie's coming… here?" I couldn't believe it. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face like wildfire. _He's coming here!_

"Yeah although that wasn't the only thing that I wanted to tell you." James walked over to sit on the edge. He leaned over, "Paper is planning something. It's obvious. I don't know what they're thinking but whatever it is, you have to be careful not to show Paper any affection."

"I can do that, I don't particularly like Paper anyway." I grinned.

"You know what I mean!" He cried out.

 _Bad time for a joke!_

I ran through the last few days in my head as a feeling of dread invaded me. Nothing of importance flashed out. So why?

No. It wasn't that.

We did it.

We found out Mattie's past. But it opened more questions than answers. Would the answers be here still?

Are they downstairs in the archive room and if so, do I _have_ to go down there again?

"What do you mean by 'planning something?'" I asked.

"A large amount of people haven't been in today. It's been the same for the past few days."

"Have you told Cindy this?"

"She already knows."

Cindy was out. I wasn't sure where she was exactly. Both of them seemed to disappear whenever they want to. It made sense when we were trying to learn where everything was but now…

A thought crossed my mind.

"Are you two okay?"

James looked startled. "Yeah, why?"

"It might just be my imagination but you both are rarely in the same room as each other. It was like that in Rose." _I think._ I only saw them briefly on rare occasions and it wasn't my job to pry.

"It's fine, Alice." He shuffled, uncomfortable with this topic.

"But there's another thing." I continued. "Have you been... " I struggled for the right word ".. feeding regularly?" I've never seen him or Cindy drink, at least fresh blood.

To be honest, I only remembered _again_ they were not human after seeing that farm. But I'll keep that to myself.

He blinked. I could almost hear the cogs stirring in his head. "Yeah, when we first started living at Paper, we both had some." He shrugged. "I invited Cindy round for coffee so yeah, we're both fine for a good few months."

 _Few… months?_

"Blood lasts you that long?" I said shocked. I remember Mattie having some regularly but to know that…

"Differs from vampire to vampire. It's like with humans."

Silence fell on us as I tried to digest this new piece of information.  
It only ended when someone decided to knock on our door.

It was Mariah. Jeez, I hadn't seen her in how long.

"Alice? Would you be able to come with me? There's someone here to meet you."

I looked at James and we had that moment where we actually shared a look.

"Sure. Have you seen Cindy, by the way?"

"I haven't, sorry."

 _I don't know but this is getting kinda fishy._

James and I followed Mariah. We took the same steps, took the same lift down, until someone stopped us and asked if James could follow her to some place I don't really know.

James was right. There was nearly no one around and it was nearly noon. Weird. Most people would be making their way to the Lower Deck but it's like a ghost town.

 _Okay… Think! I have Alpha and Beta._

When we both got there, Mattie was nowhere to be seen. Was he late?

My hands inched to my waist. _What are they planning?_

We stopped on a level just above the Lower Deck and I was led into a lab. It reminded me of my university room with six tables, each fitted with their own sink and gas valve. Stools dotted the room.

The far wall was made entirely out of glass and it was the only thing that separated this room from the one next to it, another lab. On the rest of the walls was various posters and the periodic table.

We went through a door that was right next to the glass wall on the left hand side and strangely enough it looked exactly like the control room downstairs that Rose wasn't supposed to know about. Complete with the panel, the window it observed that lead into the next room with the white padding, I almost wondered if it had that trapdoor.

This room wasn't empty though. On the three stools sat a man and a woman in a white coat who looked at me almost as if they were scared of me. Two bulkier men in a black suit had their arms folded. They stood (or leaned, it was hard to see from my angle), on the far wall. Clearly these were for security.

 _Well , shit._

The moment I stepped in the two men ran at me.

 _Holy fuck, I didn't realise they'll get me so soon!_

One of them aimed for my head, whilst the other at my feet. I had to back away half remembering there was a table behind me to dodge. They crashed into it, one guy sprawled on the floor. He might have struck his head really badly by the sound of the crash it made.

The other guy, on the other hand, was over on the table.

There was no time, I grabbed Alpha and trained it on his head. As he got up I lowered my aim to his leg.

"Stop!" Mariah screamed.

I froze.

But then the guy rushed at me, punching me in the stomach then wrapping his arms around me to haul my ass over his shoulder in that control room. With a lot of struggle he had his arms under mine in a lock. I was helpless.

"Oh, Alice." Mariah sighed. "You're not much of a match on your own, are you?" She said once the door was closed. She leaned against it.

I swear, if I had regained my breath faster, I'd had given her an answer. Instead I just stared daggers at her. If only looks could kill...

She walked right up to me and stroked my cheek. I attempted to bite that bitch's finger off but she dodged it. Lucky her.

"Shame Rose need weapons to fight." I saw her spin… I looked down at my waist. Alpha and Beta were gone! She spun Alpha around her finger.

Panic settled in faster than I could keep it at bay.

 _Shit! Am I going to die just like Daniel and Jess? Shit, shit, shit, shit..._

"You're lucky though, we asked for you personally." She pointed toward the window where a door in that room next door was open. In a blink of an eye, I saw a mane of brown hair.

I squinted. It can't be? Is it?

 _Stop moving!_

Almost like that person in that room heard her, he did so and looked at us.

Or rather, at the window.

"M-Mattie?" I mumbled in disbelief.

No way.

No way was this man right in front of me was the Mattie I knew.

Mattie didn't have that long hair.

Mattie didn't leave his eyes that dark red.

Mattie didn't scare me the way this guy did.

It was feral, animal-like. That and the way his clothes were torn and dirty.

"Yes, that's Matthew Taylor." Mariah said.

 _No._

 _What?_

 _That's Mattie?_

 _I can't imagine this man smiling at me the way Mattie did with me._

"He's been with us for a few months and because of that, he neglected having much blood. In that state, he's considered a rogue."

"A few _months_?" I almost screamed the words at her. "Vampires aren't for experiments and neither are humans!"

"What makes you think we're experimenting on him?" Bitch Mariah cocked her head at me.

Is she alluding to downstairs?

She wouldn't know Rose was down there.

Would she?

"Because any sane person wouldn't have let him in this state!"

I struggled in my restraints but he only held tighter.

Mattie was a blur in that room. Running around.

 _He's like an animal exploring his new environment. A real animal. Vampires… they're completely different to a human._

"We're human, Alice. Both of us. And humans experiment and learn and fight. That's why we're the top in the predator chain, yes?" I didn't bother answering. "Every single person in Paper is human. Including… you!" She indicated toward the woman at the panel who gave her a small, clear bottle with some pills inside it.

"This is a new experiment and it brings me pleasure to say that you're the first person to test this!" She shook the pills in my direction. "The aim is to try to increase the life expectancy of a human whilst still being human. To even more than hundred."

I think my face must have expressed the 'what the fuck' I instantly thought.

"And this little thing comes in the form of a pill, so if you please…"

Mariah came over and tried to open my mouth.

"Excus-" I made biting motions at her. "Fuck off."

Mariah actually put her hands on her hips as if she was a tutor and I the student. "Please, Alice. This if for the name of science and quite possibly the history of mankind."

"I'm not swallowing some weird shit."

"But if you don't, then we'll force you to. Have you noticed the amount of people currently at Paper today?"

I stared at her. This was what James was alluding to.

"The majority of people have blood type o. I've simply removed everyone with that blood type today."

I don't get it.

"You're the only one in this building with that blood type."

 _Oh no.  
That's just-_

 _What the fuck?_

There's a rogue vampire in the room.

Not to mention it's Mattie.

Mattie who's in love with me.

Who finds my blood the… best taste in blood for his palette.

 _I'm dead. There's no way out of this if he's set free._

"You've gone pale, Alice. Are you okay?"

I swallowed. _There really is no way out of this. I don't have Alpha or Beta._

I'm scared. I'm scared out of my mind. _What do I do?_

"So, do you want to willingly help us test this pill out or would you rather have your partner be set on you."

I said the only thing that I knew, "Neither."

Mariah sighed. I hadn't realised it but she had a pin in her hand. The next thing I knew, she had pricked my finger. A drop of blood oozed out.

 _No, no, no!_

Then the door in the other room opened and Mattie was no longer there. At the same time, the security man behind me released his grip and the door behind Mariah opened.

"Run, piggy, run." She whispered.

I ran. I ran at Mariah, knocking her on the floor and grabbing my guns off her. If I had even a tiny drop of the powers of Mattie's vampiric blood within me, I hope that it would help me.

I got to the Lower Deck because if I had to fight Mattie on a narrow hallway, damn, I had no chance.

I heard him then. Behind me.

But he wasn't there.

 _Shit. Where the fuck is he?_

A loud crash behind the food stores grabbed my attention. They shook then toppled on the floor casting a cloud of dust to poof in the air. Chairs and tables screeched across the floor, some snapped and some even flew across the air like they were being dragged.

Being dragged toward me.

I trained Alpha and Beta at the huge dust cloud. There was nothing I could do. Humans are really weak compared to a vampire.

 _Why was I even trying?_

Once the dust cloud died, Mattie wasn't even there.

 _Shit, he's teasing me?_

I looked around me. Nothing. I can't fucking see him.

 _No, he's fucking playing with me. Playing with his damn food._

But then I heard footsteps. They came from behind me.  
This time he was there, walking toward me with a shade of red eyes that I've never seen on Mattie.

It scared me.

My hands shook.

Then he broke into a run and like Caim, he jumped.

 _Holy fucking shit!_

I shot him in the chest. Three times. Once in the leg.

 _It's fucking Alpha!_

He landed on me. Right on me. The wind just escaped me in that second and I banged my head on something.

I lost track of them. My guns. Where are they?

Mattie just stared at me.

 _Nothing I could do… nothing I could do… why was I even…_

"Mattie, just fucking kill me already!" I screamed.

In the next second pain erupted from my neck as he dug his fangs into me. Hard. Fast. Deep.

Then the darkness overtook me and I collapsed.


	26. Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"Alice, do you know how long you'll last?"

I was back at Rose, sat in that classroom where I studied. It took me a while to realise where I was after I shook my head all over the place like I was watching a tennis match until my gaze finally rested on Sarah in front of me.

"What do you mean?"

Sarah gave me a weird expression. "How long you'll last against a rogue vampire."

"I don't."

"You won't last even thirty seconds! Do you know that when a vampire gets into that state of mind when all he can think about is blood, how hard it is to deny those thoughts? How easily blood comes in that state?"

"Are you saying not to let Mattie in that state?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen him in that state before?"

She shook her head. "No, but…" she paused. "I know how it feels." She wrapped her arms around herself. Her hands were briefly around her neck. That explains her tone of voice.

"It's a basic need, a feral need. Just like you humans have primitive needs, vampires have them too and number one on that list is blood."

* * *

I woke in a dark room. It's cold, so cold that I could see my breath in the air.

When I got up, there was a stitch of pain from my neck and with that, the memories of what happened rushed back.

 _I survived? How did I survive?_

I was in the room with the three large tanks that I saw when I went down the ladder. How did I get here?

 _Mattie. He must have took me here. But why?_

There were some tubes in my arm and there was something wet around my chin and cheeks. I ran my sleeve across it. I couldn't see it but by the smell and a noise that sounded like the crumbs in a biscuit tin, made me think it was dried blood.

My mind hasn't fully woken up yet. I slowly made my way to the door. It was open which didn't surprise me. If Mattie had been here, which I was pretty sure he had, he would have known.

It lead to a staircase that zig-zagged its way up just like a flight of fire exit stairs.

The staircase lead to the Lower Deck. No one was there.

 _Should I find Alpha and Beta?_

Considering I was going around virtually naked against a rogue vampire, I guessed I answered my own question.

Retracing my steps I found them under some tables.

I didn't have much time to think of my next move before I heard more footsteps coming from above.

It was Mariah with even more goons. And did I see those two who attacked me?

 _They don't stop do they?_

I crouched under some of the fallen stalls and quickly reloaded Alpha in the process.

There were only a few paths they could use to get here.

One: the lifts.

I shot the metal cabling through the glass of the lift. Glass fell and as it did, it reflected the lighting making them look like stars in a dark sky.

It took a few more bullets than I would have liked though. I reloaded again. The poof of dust that exploded when it landed at the bottom was even larger than the one Mattie caused.

 _Mattie?_

 _Where's Mattie?_

I shook my head _._

 _Concentrate!_

Two: the stairs.

I trained my aim at anyone there.

They started shooting at me. Fragments of debris covered me as broke into a half run, half crouched for some sort of shelter praying that none of the shots hit me.

I rounded a corner but ran into some guys in black suits, one who grabbed me and hauled me over his shoulder like I was nothing.

 _Holy shit! How'd I make this mistake?_

"Let go of me you fucking asshole!" I shouted, wiggling, kicking, doing everything I can.

 _Will Mattie help me?_

"Mattie!" I screamed.

I was taken into a place I had never been before.

In one of the labs was a secret doorway. We descended down a set of stairs in a dark hallway that opened to a... A waiting room?

Chairs lined the back wall adjacent to the door we came through. There was a bin in the corner on the tiled flooring.

The room was rectangular. I could only see that when we entered yet another room. Apart from the door, the two rooms were also connected by a window and by the look of it, it was a two-way window.

We were in an operating room which was lit from the centre where there was a set of lights all clumped together, the kind you'd see on TV.

I could make out that laughing gas machine, some seats next to the hallway. And a damn metal table was underneath the lights. And the thing had clamps on it!

I struggled but no matter what I did, I couldn't get out.

In my desperation I screamed, "Mattie!"

 _Why isn't he here? Where is he?_

I froze. _Did he… abandon me? Is that why he's not coming?_

"This time you won't escape." It was Mariah. Again. She stood beside the door.

I was thrust harshly onto the bed and just as quickly, the clamps grabbed my wrists. One came round my waist.

 _Should I buy time?_

 _But what's the point in that, he's not even coming._

 _If he had enough sense, he won't come not when he's a rogue._

 _But how did he even break through that basic blood lust need earlier?_

I tested my bounds. They were too tight for me to get my hand through. Not to mention the metal that I clearly couldn't break.

 _Shit, shit, shit._

"I know I did say you had one choice but what I meant was we and Mattie will play with you."

Professional Alice woke up. _Stall! You don't know what that thing will do to your body!_

I screamed at her. _You woke up just now!_

"So where's Mattie now?"

Mariah started walking toward me, the tiny pill in her manicured fingers. She shrugged. "We seem to have lost track of him."

"You let a _rogue vampire_ escape?" _What the fuck?_

"Stats say you're the most likely target." She inched closer. "Now, enough talk, let's get this started!"

Damn, there were so many fingers wanting to probe my mouth, most of which I bit. With most of the bites the taste of blood invaded me.

That bitter taste of copper.

That need to spit it out immediately.

But I didn't expect the swift punch to my ribs.

Then they easily grabbed my chin, holding my mouth to the ceiling and crammed the pill down me.

"Alice!"

I coughed.

I sputtered.

Was that Iain's voice?

Standing at the doorway with guns in both hands, there he was. Mattie was behind him, a concerned look on his face. But then they became blurry. I had to blink a few times.

"Get out of the way!" He shouted, pushing through Mariah and the amount of men in the room.

 _How many… men?_

 _Were there any men in the room to begin with?_

Someone grasped my face, pulling it to the light. I could only recognise the brown hair.

Mattie!

"Alice, we're getting you out of this shit!"

 _I'm so tired though. I can't even give him a response._

But the relief I felt when he came… It was like the rain after a heated argument.

I heard some talk in the background which turned out to be Iain getting Mariah in a corner with the help of James and Cindy.

My sight was getting seriously blurred until it turned to darkness. It ignited my distress, my breathing spiked but soon I fell unconscious.


	27. Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The sound of water dripping woke me. Or rather, I heard the sound of water and decided to ignore it until I got annoyed.

There was a pain in my chest as I took a breath like I had ran a marathon and tried to grasp as much air into my lungs.

 _That was weird._

I took me a few times to move my body too, almost like they weren't mine. So slowly, very slowly, I got up.

I shook my head. Stuff dusted around me as I did so.

I would have tried asking why my body wasn't even responding when I woke up but holy shit, the view in front of me just shocked me.

I was back at Rose. I was at the canteen, smack bang in the middle of it. But it wasn't the Rose I knew.

The walls were damaged, marks absolutely covered them. Some were slashes, some even bullet holes and some were just plain smashed from debris falling onto it.

Around me, large stones, rocks, tables, chairs were piled everywhere.

The glass from the front had completely gone. They lay in a dusty line on the pavement.

What was worse was the amount of red stains. That and the skeletons around me.

It was clear that there had been a fight here.

 _Holy fucking shit._

I crawled to a wall on instinct and dry heaved, almost gagging. Tears streamed my eyes.

 _What the fuck? What the fuck happened here?_

With one hand clutching my stomach, another against the wall, I made my way toward the first place I normally go to when I go here everyday: to Iain's office.

The path I took was mostly blocked but I could climb over it. But holy shit, most of the doors and walls had been blasted off with so much force bands of electrical wires were sticking out of walls. There was the odd box they were all connected to hanging off the ceiling or off a wall.

There was nothing but the sound of rocks falling as I pushed them away. It was only then when I realised it.

It was silent.

Everything around me was in ruins, the building, the decor, the bodies of… of what?

Former Rose colleagues?

The enemy?

I decided it was a useless argument with myself and continued toward Iain's office.

I found it with the door hanging off and damn, the place was a tip.

The bookcases had been knocked over, their books all over the place. The mahogany table that was Iain's desk had been tipped over with two legs sticking up in the air as if someone had used it as a shield. There were scratches, markings and blood stains on the walls. But it was weird. The stains were crumbing and dry.

 _What happened here?_

I found myself wondering how long blood dries before something caught my eye, something that clearly didn't belong in this mystery of places.

It was a folder with Alpha and Beta sat on top.

They were laid just behind the upturned table, covered in dust, and there was even a note that was addressed to me.

It read:

 _Lucy Henderson,_

 _I pray that this finds its way to you but knowing that the chances of that happening are very slim, may you find another means to learn the truth._

 _Paper and Rose have been demolished by the government._

What the actual fuck-

But it explains the ruins...

 _I have started writing this letter on the hope that you will wake up once we had found you at Paper in a coma thanks to some tablet they were developing which granted humans with a vampire's lifespan. But since it was only the prototype, I cannot say what we can expect to happen to your body in the future._

 _I also have the information you, Cindy and James gathered from Paper which, I am grateful for but I would rather share it with you so I haven't opened the file yet._

 _I have also left you Alpha and Beta as they are rightfully yours. There is a copy of this letter along with the guns at The Manor, at Paper, Rose and at your parent's house. All of them are for you including the items in the folder that should be with this letter. Please make use of this. I have a suspicion that you will._

 _The following items in the folder and accompanying bag are as follows:  
£1000_

 _Copies of newspapers until I was physically unable to contribute_

 _A change of clothes_

 _These items should be in the rest of the folders that are hidden where you will find it at the other locations._

 _Forever your manager and friend,_

 _Iain Wright_

The folder was yellow with age and stained in dark red blood. I found the set of clothes in a large bag with some toiletries and hair products that I couldn't help but blush at knowing Iain had thought to give me it. Thank God he picked a black hoodie, black jeans, a simple shirt and trainers. I pulled my hair up in a high ponytail.

The money was right. I don't know, I had to check.

But the newspapers... He'd updated them on a month basis and almost all of them had something to do with Paper or Rose in them.

One newspaper dated in July which was _five months_ after I was at Paper, spoke of the government backing a secret organisation that deals with vampiric society. The government had denied that. Then there was another with images of some alleged people from Rose. I didn't recognise any of them.

 _I've been in a coma for five months…_

I grabbed the bag and stuffed everything in but Alpha and Beta which I concealed in my holsters then headed out.

I took a detour though, hoping that the path there wouldn't be too cluttered. I would have prefered it if I could see it for myself rather than in some other part of the building.

I was going to see Jess and Daniel.

Their portraits weren't there.

No one's portraits were there.

I felt a pang of pain in my chest at taking so long to visit them and the guilt that followed that I never even visited when I could. So I went as far as I could until the way to them was blocked.

"Jess. Daniel," I sank to my knees. "I'm sorry."

In that instance a wave of loneliness overtook me. My heart ached knowing I was most likely the only Rose member alive. I couldn't take it anymore. I cried.

Because everyone says they'll be there but in reality they aren't.

Because I didn't know where everyone is.

Because I killed my brother.

Because I missed my parents.

Because I needed Mattie to tell me I'm doing something good.

Because the world I knew was probably gone.

It all poured out of me until my chest was too painful to even breathe and I was tired of crying. Until my head was fuzzy.

I felt better after that.

I pulled myself together quickly, dragging a sleeve over my eyes and nose. I could not stay here.

"Jess, Daniel, Caim, everyone that has died here." I said, "I guess I'll be going." I picked up the bag then bowed. "Thank you for…" I struggled with the words. How can I express what I felt? "Thank you for all the memories here. Thank you for teaching me many things, for being my friends and ultimately, letting me become one of your colleagues. I don't bear any resentment toward you, Caim, more like gratitude. Goodbye."

* * *

Outside was a tip too. Soil was everywhere. Trees that were lined alongside the main pavement were uprooted and their branches stuck up in the air. The tiling was all over too. Grass had grew everywhere. The weeds were unkempt, heck some were nearing the height of my knee.

But in the distance, where the residential building was for the family of Rose members… that was the first thing that caught my eye.

It was not there.

It had collapsed into a huge pile of rubble of bricks, electrical wires, and other miscellaneous things.

 _Bricks? How am I seeing that from the entrance of Rose?_

I swallowed. _Is that because of the blood Mattie gave me? Where's Mattie? Where's Sam? Where's Iain?_

The lift was broken. I did expect that. It was either scale this to the world above or go through that huge gape of a mouth that let to the labyrinth toward Paper. Wherever Paper was in that labyrinth.

What I didn't expect, on the other hand, was that the emergency doors in the lift was open and that the metal ropes that had originally lifted and gently dropped the lift were still intak. It almost made me think that this was how the survivors of whatever happened to Rose got out.

If there were any survivors.

 _If anything ever happened to Iain…_

 _No, Mattie would have protected him._

At least I hope so.

I shook my head.

 _Get your head in the game and don't think negatively!_

I threw the bag over the emergency hatch and heard it thud gently on top of the lift. I had to swing myself, keeping my legs firmly planted on the walls to hoist up.

It looked like I was a way down from the surface.

 _Well, fuck sake!_

I pulled my bag over on my back like a turtle shell. There was a ladder integrated into the tunnel near a corner but the problem was it was two metres or so above me. I just did what I'd done to get up - find something to grip on in the wall, held onto it till I could shimmy myself up to reach it.

* * *

The bank above Rose was empty. It was fully furnished and now that I knew it had been five months (or more - I pray it was only five months because I just don't think I could take it if I'd been in a coma for longer), since I was in Paper, I understood why it was dusty.

I went straight to the entrance where I found yellow tape all over but seeing no policemen or their cars around, I snuck out. I did get some people stare at me, probably because of what I'd done, or because I was covered in dust, but I didn't care. I doubt they would have asked me why I was coming out of an empty bank anyway.

It was night. I didn't know what time it was but guessed it was still evening considering the amount of people still out.

With half a mind I booked a room at a nearby hotel that I don't really remember was there before and collapsed on the bed.

"Guess I'll read the newspaper clips tomorrow." I murmured before I drifted off into sleep.

* * *

I got up at around eleven at night and did what I said I would do so I began reading the newspapers in order. Most of them had the same headline: _Vampires are real! Gov protects vampires! Wonder what happens to your donated blood?_ Just a quick scan made me shake my head in denial. The facts in these articles were wrong and were mostly based off the stereotypical vampires you'd see on the TV.

But despite that, there were some interesting stories. The Guardian and The Times seemed to be the one who were following the breakdown of the Bloody sisters. They mostly had the same information, that because of _Dracula_ , the _Twilight_ series and anything else relating to the existence of vampires, fuelled the public into believing that vampires were real. They were, of course, but their existence was supposed to be kept a secret because of a law issued by the human government with the help of the vampire government.

So when there was evidence of people on the streets being attacked with blood stains on and around their neck, and the fall of Rose and Paper, it further fuelled their suspicions. What was Bloody Paper? What was Bloody Rose? Why did they protect vampires from humans?

Images of people being interrogated by the government as part of an inquiry were shown, people who I don't know. They confirmed in the inquiry that vampires were real and that there was nothing to be scared of even though I knew that two of the three organisations had been demolished. That, and the roles that Paper and Rose had played, were part of Gold. And now there was panic when people left their homes. They didn't understand why the government would do such a thing.

I sighed. There was nothing in it about why the two organisations came about. Nor how the inquiry came about. Why would human society want to know about the collapse of an organisation that was a secret from them? They shouldn't have known that they even existed anyway.

 _Maybe it was censored in some way… maybe whoever gave the media the information they needed to write these stories, answered the questions they want to answer._

After an hour or so reading through all the newspapers, I leaned back. It didn't give me any kind of insight in _what_ and _why_ Paper and Rose fell but that was okay because I didn't expect it, although it did show me what was happening locally and internationally. The shops I remembered were not there, some were still empty, the rest being bought and a whole different store in their place. But the one thing that did not change was politics.

Knowing this I really didn't know what to do.

I lied.

I did but I didn't know where to start.

Find Iain and Mattie. It would be great if they were still together as colleagues but I doubt it.

There wasn't anything else to do.

I lied again.

Since I had found out Mattie's past, I wondered if I could do something with it. But right now that will have to wait till I know what exactly it is I'm doing.

Do I go back to The Manor? Will that have some answers for me?

What about Iain's house?

Damn. I'll just go there anyway.

* * *

I went around town with my bag and the change of clothes Iain got me. I aimed for some shopping but found myself staring at the newspaper right in front of me.

It was dated 2049.

 _Holy fuck! It's thirty years in the future! What the hell? Shit. I don't-_


	28. Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I swallowed hard. I need a drink. I'm suddenly way too hot.

Tentatively I held the paper in front of my eyes as if it'll change the year back thirty years.

 _In a coma for thirty years… I'd been gone for thirty…_

 _How can such a small thing do so much damage?_

I looked at my hand. Clenched my hand. Unclenched it.

 _I'm… not human am I?_

I had looked in the mirror before I set out and I looked normal. I showered and I looked normal. I should be… what… in my fifties now but I haven't aged a bit.

 _That means Iain's older now._

I inwardly screamed. What do I do?

* * *

I checked out of the hotel then took a taxi to The Manor since it was nearer. It seemed like forever since I had been here and the first time I took a good look at the house that took my brother and I in.

It hardly changed.

The rectangular windows that took up most of the building were still the same, apart from some leaves that rested on the sills.

The little archway just beside the house where the rented cars we rode in would be, was empty.

The small designs that had been worn down by the elements were still recognisable.

Just everything needed a bit of TLC.

I waded through the grass that was almost shoulder height. I ran through these hundreds of times.

 _It feels like I'm actually walking into a memory, a forgotten memory._

The door was unlocked. I had to cough as the wind caught the dust. Everything inside was covered in it like a blanket. And in the darkness, everything gave me a memory.

This was the place where I watched TV with Mattie and Caim.

Where I studied hard for the university I wanted to go in.

Where I had mental breakdowns in that corner where I was too stressed and felt like shit,

Where Mattie told me he liked me… I got a pain in my chest from that.

I shook my head. I looked around the place more. Looked like Mattie didn't even live here anymore so while I'm here, I may as well grab what Iain left for me.

I found it under the Mattie's bed and found myself blushing yet again. _Iain, I know you know about us but still!_  
Everything was still there so I shoved it in my bag. The letter was the same.

If I found Mattie, would he want to continue living here? Where does he live now?

In the kitchen I drew back the blinds and after brushing the layer of dust away from a chair, I brought it up to the island.

I knew what I wanted to do with the money I found here. But what after?

From the darkness of the main room, Professional Alice looked at me from across the kitchen and started walking toward me and with every step, there was an unfamiliar sound coming from her. _You need to take one step at a time. That's the best thing to do right now._

That was right but...

"Why are you bleeding?" I asked her. I had to stand up. The sight of her made me grab Alpha in the process, aiming it with two shaking hands at her chest.

That unfamiliar sound were drops of blood staining the floor coming from her fingers. As she got closer to the light, I could see she was covered in it. There was a huge slash across her torso. Her clothes - my clothes - were torn.

"It's not my blood," she said looking at her hands.

To me she looked at them like she had grown a third arm.

"But you're the same." She pointed at me and as she did a flick of that blood landed about a metre to my left.

I didn't know what she meant. I looked at my shirt but there was nothing there. But on my hands… They struggled to keep Alpha steady. They were wet, Alpha slipped through my fingers and fell on the floor.

They were covered in blood.

"It's their blood." She said simply. "The blood of everyone that you've killed or seen killed." She paused. "Do you remember there was a rumour going around that Rose ditches its colleagues after twenty-five years?"

I didn't answer her.

"They get replaced." With that she faded out of my sight.

It took me a few moments to control myself before I looked around for Alpha. It had bounced off the floor and laid in the middle of nowhere.

 _There's something wrong with me._

Seeing Professional Alice like that had me breathing heavily with my butt on the floor in a foetal position for quite some time.

 _I need to find Iain or Mattie soon. I can't do this myself._

I took a shaking breath before peering over the counter top just to make sure Professional Alice still gone and headed out.

I was going to go to my parent's house. I wasn't exactly sure if they were going to be there all this time but it was worth a shot.

* * *

When Caim and I were still living at my parent's house, I remember the house being average. It was sat in a small town with a small garden and it looked just like all the other houses around it with a pale brick colour, white framed windows, a garage and a porch.

But now the house had a conservatory at the back (I could see it over the fence), there was a little flower garden in the front with a few boxed hedges and holy shit-

I had to duck down seeing someone was gardening in the front.

A woman was with some secateurs nearly saw me as see trimmed the hedges. She had grey hair covered up in a hat, wore glasses, a knitted jumper and jeans. From my crouched position around a corner and through the gaps of the fence, I could see a red bucket at her feet filled with some of the cuttings.

 _That's… Maggie._

I watched my mother working for a few moments. It had been a while since I had seen her. I never knew she enjoyed gardening. The Maggie I knew only cared for the caci that grew on our coffee table and she always used to say, "gardening and caring for you two takes up a lot of my time and I can't do both at the same time."

She stretched and went inside the house. I didn't realise the front door was open.

I pulled my hoodie up then opened my bag for the stuff I got at The Manor. Then wrote on the envelope as I didn't have any other piece of paper to write on:

 _I hope that you two are doing well._

 _I am leaving this in your care as well as the other corresponding bag that was left with you. They are both mine and I hope you have a better need for it than I do._

I didn't know what else to say or even how to write it so I thought professional was the best bet. But now I didn't know how to sign off. Do I put Lucy Henderson or Alice Darling? I don't particularly like having my parents in danger if I did put my real name. But they won't know who the hell was Lucy Henderson.

 _Fuck , I'll just write my real name._

I stuffed the note halfway in the bag at the zip, then carried it over.

One of the neighbours was watching me, a younger person maybe around her thirties. It looked like she was gardening too. I don't really care, to be honest. I looked her right in the eye and nodded my head to say, 'I've seen you.'

I left the bag on the front door scurrying out of there as fast as I could to my little hiding place to make sure the person I want to give it to, got it.

And she did.

Maggie looked a bit confused, looking around the street trying to figure out who gave her this huge bag. She took the note, read it and her hand flew to her mouth. I could see her sob, but I couldn't hear it.

She turned around and yelled, "David! Come here!"

I saw her neighbour ask her something, I'd imagine 'what's wrong'. After some listening I suppose she said she saw me. Maggie fell to the floor and as she did, David came to her aid.

There was an aching urge in my chest.

I wanted to go up to her.

I wanted to show her that I was alright.

 _But I'm not alright._

There were some things I had to do before I could show myself to them.

Like how am I going to explain that Caim isn't here anymore and how he died?

I left them like that.

* * *

The next step, even though I really, _really,_ wanted to go to Iain's place, was to find out what Amy Richard's was doing. I had no leads but one. I didn't plan to meet her because of the time difference and my current 'I-still-look-the-same-for-thirty-fucking-years'.

Was it bad that I was just curious of what and where she was doing?

Getting to the nearest library was easy. Not meaning to allude anyone to my supposed age, I visited one that I was a member of so they just needed to update my address and phone number, and was quickly sat on one of the computers.

Logical Alice fluttered by me, pulling up a chair to sit beside me. With her arms resting on the table, she leaned her head down looking bored.

 _Are you sure you want to do this? It's not great if it's only out of curiosity._

Iain's place was an hour and a half away from my parent's house. Even though I'd only been there once, I remembered the street name. I don't particularly remember what it looked like in detail to compare it to the place now. I only remembered it being beige.

It sounded fine in my head: Just knock on the door and see who lives there now.

In reality however… I had butterflies in my stomach and there was that all too familiar lump in my throat.

I coughed knocking on the white door.

An asian woman who looked like she was in her early twenties answered the door. "Hello?" She gazed up and down me. Behind her were a bunch of boxes and bubble wrap. It dotted the stairs almost making them impossible to climb up.

"Hi!" I looked at her lost for words. "Sorry, I thought someone I knew lived here. It was a while ago." _Thirty years is considered a 'while ago'?_ I mentally chastised myself.

For some reason her face lit up. "Could you just tell me your name and the person you knew?"

I stared at her blankly. I was planning to take a look around the place, so why did this stranger need to know my name? In any case I told her my Lucy name and Iain's name.

She told me to wait a bit as she hurried inside saying there was 'something for you'. Did Iain leave something here for me? Again?

 _I'll have to thank Iain later when I find him._

She came a few minutes later with a small box in her hand - an old looking box, the edges were fraying and were patched up with duct tape. My name and Iain's name was written in marker.

"This was left to the previous owner. He said that there might be a girl who might come here with the same name and ask for Iain. I've only just moved in as you can probably tell."

I smiled at her saying thanks.

"We haven't opened it or anything. It came to us like that."

I nodded, thanking her again for her help.

There was a park nearby and parked my butt on one of the benches. With the evening sun on my shoulders I felt a little less lost in this world. Iain keeps saving me.

Inside was a small notebook. On the first page was an address I didn't recognise.

 _Is this where Iain's living now?_

I felt a grin burst on my face.

"Iain..." I murmured.

Even though I wasn't with him for thirty years he was still thinking of me. There must have been people who tried to convince him otherwise.

 _He's more than just a manager._

I couldn't help it. I had to go there now. If Iain is still living at this address then I need to see him.

I found myself with a bud of enthusiasm, one I hadn't found in a while. I had a suspicion that only Mattie could do that as I had never really thought of Iain as a friend. He was close to me but… It never occurred to me.

* * *

When I arrived the time in the car was almost ten at night. Lamp posts dotted the street casting their glow on the ground in red, white and orange colours. It was silent apart from that electrical clicking noise I heard not too far away.

I was in a suburban area. The bungalows were spaced out about a drive's length and each were separated by a wired fence. The house in question had a patch of grass for a front garden. It had a large front window that was lit but had curtains closed. There was a platform to get up to the door.

 _This is it!_

I took a breath to steady my nervous before knocking on the door.

It was opened by an old man with grey hair, reading glasses in a brown dressing gown and slippers. At the first sight of me his eyes widened and his hands flew to his chest. There was confusion on his face as he tried to process what he saw before him.

 _Should I say something?_

"Alice?" The word was a breath on his lips. He couldn't believe it.

"Hi, Iain." I smiled.

"Christ." He ran his hands over his face before holding his hands out for a hug which I accepted without hesitation.

"I'm back." I said.

"Welcome back."

* * *

Iain took me to his living room and gave me tea and cake. It was pretty simple with a coffee table, a sofa with matching chairs and a TV. There were also pictures on the wall too, of some people over the years but one took all of my attention: Mattie. I even had to stand up for a closer look.

It was a landscape photo with Iain and Mattie, with Iain's arms around his shoulders. They were grinning, Mattie's emerald eyes making me miss him even more and fueled my need to find him faster.

I was exhausted but at the same time I wanted to talk to him, catch up on everything I'd missed.

But I bet Iain would say 'We'll talk tomorrow' knowing that.

He saw me looking at the photo.

"Do you know where he is?"  
"What do you mean?" Surely Mattie would be with Iain? They went their separate ways?

"Ah, shortly after everything was ruined at Paper and Rose, everyone saw there was no need to stay - I suppose they thought the Bloody sisters kept them at bay, and disappeared. Mattie, unfortunately, was one of them. Although..." Iain went around sit, "I did hear of a rumour that only select people would be moved and would work at Gold. I've never really investigated it because of the little information we already had on Gold. That's the mediation we currently have between the two societies." He sighed. "I was stripped of my power along with the other managers there."

I sank in the chair. My chances at finding Mattie are slim.

"Are you well?" He asked.

 _No._

"Yeah… it's just everything that's happened. I mean I'm clearly missing years of my life not to mention I'm in a situation where I just feel lost..." I trailed off. I was ranting.

"You found me, Alice and that's a step forward in the right direction."

For some reason those words brought tears to my eyes. I walked around to stand just in front of him holding his hand.

"Iain." I said, "I wanted to thank you for everything that you've done for me. Everything from when I first started at Rose to now. You've always protected me, kept me safe and guided me. I'm sorry I only realised it now once thirty years had passed."

The tears flowed freely now. I couldn't hold back the sobs that joined them. I never realised how much they had cared for me until now.

The hand I was holding came to stroke my face. "You're very welcome, Alice."

I didn't really know what to say after that so I just stood there. Occasionally Iain would wipe away the tears from my eyes with his thumb.

* * *

It's dark but I know I'm in a familiar surrounding.

I think.

It's so dark I can't really see anything beyond my arm either. But strangely enough it didn't really scare me. Maybe it's because I know I've been here before.

When I reach out my hand, it actually touched something which shocked me even more.

It was wet, I could feel it sticking on my fingers.

"H-Hello?"

Silence. I didn't really expect an answer.

But then lights flashed casting me in blindness until my eyes adjusted.

Standing in front of me was Mattie in tattered clothes and covered in blood.

I staggered back on reflex. _Holy shit!_

"Mattie, what happened to you?" I said almost shouting. Shouting to drown out the fear I felt in my heart.

He didn't say anything.

"Mattie? Mattie!"

* * *

"Alice!" I was awoken by an old man shaking me by my shoulders. "What happened? You were screaming in your sleep!"

I took a few breaths. Tried to remember where the hell I was. That's right, I was at Iain's house.

"Iain?" I gasped. It felt like the world was spinning.

"Lay down."

Beside me he turned on a lamp and once again I was bathed in light that blinded me momentarily. The bed sank as he sat. I moaned pulling the covers over me like a child. It reminded me of the fading nightmare I just had.

"What happened?" He repeated.

 _Damn, I just had a nightmare like with James._

 _James?_

 _Where's James?_

"It's nothing." I flapped my hand at him.

"No it's not. Tell me."

"I just had a nightmare, can't you see that?" I said. Why won't he stop?

"Alice." He said, "nightmares are something serious at Rose so I need to know."

"I had no idea what you mean."

He sighed. "You might have PTSD brought about by the job. It was very likely people would have it at Rose."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what exactly I should say to that.

"I was a long standing manager, Alice. So please trust me when I say-"

"I do." I murmured lifting the covers to look straight at him to emphasise my point. "I do. It's not that I'm hiding it…" _Sort of._ "I just don't really understand and I don't really know how to talk about it."

"Just say what's on your mind for a start, even if it's just a jumble of sentences." He paused. "Did you struggle to talk to Mattie?"

 _Eh?_ I gave him a blank look.

"I guess you saw through that." Iain chuckled lightly. The type when you're embarrassed and trying to lighten the mood. "I was trying to talk as if we were on the same… as if we had the same recollection. As if we didn't have thirty years of memories between us."

I continued staring at him. He frowned when he saw my expression. "How do I even explain this? When you were with Mattie, did you talk to him about stuff, you know… anything that pops up to mind?"

It was my turn to frown. "I… I don't think I did."

I tried to remember what I even talked to Mattie about. He did tell me to talk even when the thoughts in my head were a jumble. But it's hard… I feel embarrassed, scared, vulnerable. Like the time I confessed… that word felt alien in my mouth. I just rambled.

I blushed harshly. Iain put an arm around my shoulders. His hand patted me.

"I know you know, so just keep it in mind, okay?" He got up and turned off the light. "Get some sleep and we can talk about everything in the morning."

"How can I sleep now?" I mumbled. It feels as if my mind was going into overdrive, listing off a bunch of stuff to keep a note of and do, almost like that time when I had to run home because of university.

Now that Iain knew I have nightmares a thought popped up. "W-Wait!" I grabbed his sleeve. "There is something…" Iain sat back down on the bed waiting for me to pick up the courage. "Do you think… Mattie will still want me even though I might have PTSD?"

"Oh, Alice." Iain wrapped his arms around me. "Of course he will. I know that for sure."

His response gave me a warm feeling and the reassurance I needed to know that I was doing a good job.

Standing back up again, he said

"Get some rest." He gave me a sympathetic look before closing the door behind him.


	29. Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Iain sat on the same chair he was on last night. I supposed it was his favourite one.

This was the day. The day I'd be able to fill in all the blanks.

But then a thought came. _Would it be better to find Mattie?_ I hate to admit it but Iain was - I wasn't exactly sure how old he was - his memory might not be as sharp as it once was.

It was this line of thought that I carried as I sat on the sofa facing him.

"Iain…"

"Alice.."

We both said each other's names at the same time. I grinned.

Iain indicated that he wanted me to go first so I did. I told him that it was a bit weird to talk about something without Mattie in the same room, and that I sort of associated talking with Iain only when I wanted to… I don't really know… talk to him without Mattie knowing…

Okay that didn't make sense.

"Alice." He said. I think he knew I was making an excuse so I faltered to wait for his reply. "I agree. We should really find Mattie."

I felt the relief wash over me. But wait- "Do you know where he is?"

"He's not at The Manor?

I shook my head telling him I had already been there and describing what I saw.

Iain laid back in thought. "I don't see Mattie going anywhere apart from The Manor and Rose, to be honest. There might be a place but the last time I heard news of it, it was completely gone."

My interest peaked. "A place?" I doubted I would have even gone there.

"I can show you. Go in my room, in the wardrobe there is a fireproof case. Can you bring that down?"

I did what he said. Iain's room was next to the living room, opposite the spare room I had slept in last night. I tried to ignore it because of what happened. I was a bit embarrassed.

The case was heavy. Heck, I nearly dropped it as I hefted off the shelf. Maybe it would have left a hole in the floor if I did drop it.

It was also locked so when I miraculously got the heavy thing back into the living room, I noticed Iain had gotten up and had a set of keys in his hand.

With a grave look on his face he indicated for me to put the case on the table. What was in this thing?

Iain had to use the table for support as he lowered himself down on the floor. It took him a few tries to find the right key and to get the tiny thing in the keyhole. It really showed his age. I felt guilty. Guilty because… because… I wasn't really sure. Because I was young and he old?

Once he got it open, I saw a bunch of documents. There were several folders of different colours, some the ringbinder kind, others that weird A4 envelope things and some papers were even grouped together in a simple plastic wallet. I couldn't read what they were, the folders covered its secrets and the plastic wallets were too scrunched up to be able to read what they carried.

Deep under all the documents were a couple of photo albums. It was these that Iain dug up.

"Brings back memories." He said sighing. "I used to keep every photo that was given to me and everyone I took."

On the first page was a younger looking Iain smiling at the camera with a guy I didn't recognise. Behind them though, it looks like…

"That's at Rose?" I said shocked. It was the same glass entrance. I only recognised the building in the background that didn't seem to change.

 _How old was this? There's no timestamp on these!_

"Ah, that's when I was in my early twenties. That man there was a feeder to Gabriella Scott."

" _Gabriella Scott!"_ I gaped at him. If I gaped at him harder I think my mouth would have dropped to the floor. Gabriella was a well known vampire at Rose well before I even joined but she had the most amount of kills at Rose during her career. I only knew of her thanks to my studies.

"Ah…" Iain took the photo out of its sheath. "I don't remember his name now but he died a long time ago."

Putting the photo on the table, Iain flicked through his memories. I saw them, if only for a second. It looked like Rose was less stressed, it had a lighter tone. Iain was in some of them, all the time smiling on his own, with his arm around someone, in a group… it looked like he was really popular.

"Wait!" I almost shouted. Iain froze, his arm in the air halfway turning a page. I had to flick a few pages back until I found what I thought I saw.

It was a photo of three people in front of my parent's house - on the front step to be exact. A younger Iain had his arms around two children.

 _That's me and Caim!_

I looked at Iain questions all over my face.

"Oh, Alice, you didn't realise till now?"

"I-" What do I even say? "But that's- what?"

"We first met the both of you when you were really young."

I was speechless. "Iain, I- I'm… really sorry. You need to actually tell me some things."

"Ah, well, at least we know each other now." He clasped my back.

He flicked over a few more pages of the album, this time they looked like they were dated when Caim had just joined Rose. Pictures of him grinning at the camera, in parties, sat round a table eating… it was very… _normal_ considering Rose was anything but normal.

Finally he stopped at a picture of an old Victorian house. It looked like The Manor but it was completely surrounded by a forest. Trees that were higher than the house itself.

The building stood like a beige brick right in the centre of an opening as if the trees were shielding it from the outside world. There was a small porch covering the front doors and like the Victorian buildings you see on TV, they had little balls of shrubbery next to the pillars that held it up.

But it was what was in front of it that caught my eye. Four people stood holding hands, having their arms around each other's shoulders, all smiling at the camera that as a little too far from them, like it stood a few metres away making them small.

I only recognised one, and that was Mattie, second from the left.

"They're… the founders of Rose?" I asked, frowning as I tried to remember back to what Iain told me.

"Yes, although I don't remember their names anymore."

I took the image out of its sheath and held it up to my eyes.

"That building was the original Rose. The one that was underground was the new headquarters that was made shortly after its success."

 _Original Rose?_

"And you think Mattie would be here?"

He shrugged. "When we went our separate ways I went to The Manor and he wasn't there. I went to your parent's house…" He trailed off staring at me as if he was trying to gauge my reaction. And he was right to!

I felt a range of emotions. One was a sinking feeling. Iain at my parent's? Shit! What would he even say? What _did_ he even say? What would they say? He didn't talk about Caim would he?

The second was rage. How dare he? How _dare_ he? That question was the only thing that rang around my head, each one filling me with more anger until it was extinguished by my third emotion.

The third, despair. What if he told them about me and Caim? What would they even think about Mattie? Would they argue at Iain?

It took me a while to try and form some words. My mouth opened then closed as my head ran in circles.

 _Fuck._

Iain took off his glasses which, now on closer inspection were bifocals. "I went go there because I just didn't know how to get there. Although-" He added seeing I was going to say something. I felt like shouting at him for some reason. Was it that obvious? "Although, I do know someone who knows how to get there."

Iain was going to get up so I stopped him asking what he was going to get and to get it. It was a small, black contacts book that sat in the top drawer next to his bed.

When I gave him it, Iain flipped open the pages and handed me it. There was only one name on the double pages and that was-

"Sam? That's the Sam that I know, right?"

He nodded. "Sam was one of the first that visited the place, the first vampire that gave Mattie's small idea authenticity. You see both the governments were originally against the idea." Iain shrugged, making his glasses nearly fall off his nose. Propping them back in place, it looked like he was going to continue but then he made a face as if he was weighing up something.

"Mainly the human government was against it seeing that it reaffirms the idea that there was something..." Iain frowned.

Heck that word in my ears sounded strange too. I mean, Mattie definitely isn't a _something_!

"...that was superior than the human race. You know, the food chain." I nodded. "As for the vampiric society, they said that they didn't need outsider interference, that they could police their kind with the help of the purebloods. So for Sam, who's pretty high up in vampire society, to step out of the line and support Mattie was a significant thing to happen. Eventually people supported Mattie's idea and they gave the idea the name of Rose which was..." Iain froze then he eyed me as if I was going to explode. _What's with him?_

"Which was…" I prompted.

"Which was the name of his late wife."

I think my mouth dropped on the floor, I was that shocked. _What the fuck?_

"Yeah, uh..." He tried to change subject, "So that's how Rose started.

"You should try calling him, Sam, I mean. I'm sure he wants to hear your voice after all this time."

I eyed Iain. I didn't really know what to make of this. "Okay." I walked out to grab the house phone and called the number scribbled under Sam's name.

It was answered just as I put the phone to my ear.

"Hey Iain! I haven't seen or spoken to you recently! How have you been?"

I cleared my throat. How do I talk to Sam again? "Hi Sam, actually it's Alice here." I looked at Iain for reassurance but considering he couldn't hear a word of what Sam was saying, I only got a shrug and a half-smile.

"Eh? Alice? Alice Darling?" There was a pause. It was weird. Normally you'd expect something like the other person breathing down the line but there was nothing. _Okay, that was a creepy thought…_ "How are you? Iain bullying with his years of experience?"

"Haha." I couldn't put more sarcasm in my tone. "I'm fine. Iain is the first person I've found since waking up."

"How long ago was that?"

"About a day or two ago." I was looking out the window at the morning then remembered Sam was a vampire. _Geez, why do I keep forgetting that?_ "Hey, are you okay with me calling you up in the morning? I didn't really think." I laughed nervously. "I'm still kind of out of it... " And I don't really know how to casually talk to other people. Is this a side effect Rose does with its people?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Iain has a different schedule anyway and I'm used to it. So, what is it that you're asking?" Trust a vampire to realise that. Actually, trust anyone to ask that.

I decided to just go ahead and say it. "Do you remember the original Rose?" Now that I've actually said it, it sounded like a long shot. But since Iain said it… "Do you still remember the way?"

I heard him hum. "I do but whether it's still there after all this time is a different matter entirely."

 _Shit, I didn't think of that._

"Could you just tell me how to get there?"

"You want to go there? Well sure…" Sam told me the directions. It took me awhile to get a grasp on it so much so that I needed a pen and paper.

"Visit me later, okay, Alice? I'd love to know if the house is still there."

"Of course!" I wanted to meet everyone. I wanted to know where they are, what happened and just catch up on everything that I missed out on. Maybe then I'd feel a bit _normal._

"Alice," Iain said once I got off the phone. "I just remembered something to tell you." He edged off his seat. "Do you remember your blood that was used as backup should anything happen to you?" I nodded. "Mattie took to it a few hours after you…" He faltered, struggling with the right word so I just waved my hand as a dismissal and for him to continue. "There was quite a lot there, I don't remember the exact amount but it's all gone. Mattie drank the whole lot within a couple days."

I paled. Why did I have to know that? It sounded like he was a rogue now. I don't particularly enjoy searching for a pureblood vampire gone rogue. Neither do I enjoy thinking that I'll be scared out of my mind.

Iain held up his hands in that 'I'm-just-saying' way. "I don't know if he's gone rogue so be careful, okay?"

 _Well shit. I hadn't thought of that._ I ran my hands through my hair. _Okay, calm down. If he's rogue you can just call saying he is._

"Alright." I patted myself to make sure Alpha and Beta were on me.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah."

"Wait!" He almost shouted the word. "I have a couple of things to tell you! When you see Mattie, you know… spend your time together…" I felt my face heat up. Even Iain looked flustered. "Then come back, okay? I would prefer it if I could tell you both."

"Okay."

He cleared his throat. "I think it was when you were in hospital…" He murmured. "Well, I thought you should know that we took you to Rose's hospital and Mattie stayed right next to you until Rose's closure."

I blinked. Really? Mattie would do that? Why was that a bit hard to believe?

"Now, go!" Iain pointed to the door. "Before I start regretting telling you!"

I grinned. "Thanks for telling me, Iain."

On the contrary, I stayed till night arrived.

* * *

The road was bathed in an orange light that made everything look elongated and menacing. It was a stark contrast with the moonlight that peeped through the clouds. I'd prefer the moonlight though.

I drove under an almost clear night in a black rental Toyota. It was about one in the morning and it was eerily quiet as if the tiniest sound could be heard for miles. Heck, I didn't have the music running.

This was the night the vampires would be up. That was fine. It was the rogue ones I was worried about.

I was in the car for five hours. I hadn't taken a break yet although I should, the petrol was slowly dying down. But I chose not to because I wanted to see him. I felt embarrassed about it. Mattie was the only one who invaded my mind, in my sleep (what little sleep I did have), and… that little part of me that said, 'he is the only person I'm interested in.'

I gripped the wheel. It's wrong of me to even think that, isn't it? Iain helped me from the moment I woke up in the ruins of Rose. He's currently helping me. I need to thank him.

I took a few turns which took me off the motorway and down some empty ones as directed by Sam's recollection. Pretty soon I was off road with dirt under the wheels with large trees bordering either side of me. They towered far above the car covering me in darkness as if the shadows were capturing me. It was only moonlight from here on out.

I had to drive slow. The crunch as the car moved deafened me. I was paranoid. If a vampire jumped out at me I'd have no chance of getting away.

I don't know how long I drove. The drive was a straight, wide road, everything looked the same. I only knew that I'd been on this road for twenty minutes but for all I knew, I didn't make a dent in my journey to whatever lay at the end. According to Sam, the original Rose was there.

After a while I saw something that was blocking the road which was kind of strange. It was a gate, one of those fancy looking ones that had a spiraling design at the top and was only complete when the gate was shut.

 _Doesn't look like I'll be needing the car…_

I left the headlights on as I stepped out making sure Alpha and Beta were with me. With one hand holding Alpha aimed at the gate, I made my way toward it hoping that there was a way through.

On closer inspection, the gate was rusted. Patches of a dark grey shone on the light among the outer black colour. Some layers were chipped and swayed in the wind.

The design on top didn't look like it meant something. I didn't expect it considering there was nothing in the ways of identification on the Rose I know. _Knew._ I told myself.

Laying my hand on the edge of one gate I pushed and _argh!_ A loud shrieking, piercing, high pitched sound boomed through the air making me freeze. It shot right through me.

"Hello."

I shot round toward the monotone voice holding Alpha up and at a woman I hadn't noticed before. With the light behind her I couldn't exactly see her in detail but I knew she was wearing a short skirt and a jacket. I could see the edges of it as it fell around her waist.

Alpha was aimed at her legs.

"Hello." I replied with the same lack of emotion as her. _Hopefully my fear isn't shown on my poker face._

 _Where the fuck did she come from?_

Then another part of me answered. _She's a vampire!_

"What's a tainter doing at this time of night?"

 _Right… I forgot my blood is tainted._

"It's none of your business." _Shit, my hand is getting sweaty._

"Are you looking for someone?"

I opened my mouth to say the same reply again but thought against it. Maybe I could get some information from her?

"Is there anyone around here?"

Her head bowed as if she was listening to something. "Yes."

She pointed toward the gate. Or maybe far beyond the gate. I couldn't help but look in the direction she was pointing as a flurry of hope blossomed in my chest. _Mattie could be there!_

I couldn't see anything beyond the gates though. I realised I had made a gap in between the gates just big enough for me. But when I looked back that vampire had already disappeared.


	30. Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I turned the car lights off then squeezed through the gates. I was well and truly in vampire territory.

 _I probably should have asked her if there were any fucking vampires prowling around. Would make my life so much easier!_

I walked down the border of the tree line. Shrubbery snaked along my legs every time I stepped and stones and pebbles and whatever else rolled away as I kicked them about.

That was the only thing I could hear coupled with my own breathing as I tried to keep it steady. I walked and walked and walked until I saw something in the distance. It was a block between the trees.

 _Is that-_ I gasped, _that's original Rose!_

I broke into a run like something was chasing me. _Fuck, yes! Mattie!_ A grin burst across my face. I felt the start of a laugh bubble in my chest.

Panting, I stopped at the opening. There was only one light coming from a room in the corner. I could see the curtains were slightly parted.

I should've just walked right up to the door and knocked. I think that's what Professional Alice would have said if she hadn't gone crazy. But I didn't. I scaled a tree taking care not to scratch myself on the branches. I think Sarah told me that the blood rises to the surface and vampires can tell.

 _You're being stupid, Alice._ I mentally told myself. _Walk right up to that door and knock instead of being a peeping Tom._ If only my limbs would obey.

The wind blew right through me. I had to test branches to make sure I wasn't going to fall but just when I managed to sit on a good looking, stable branch, someone caught my eye. They moved past the window.

 _No! I missed that!_

A silhouette of a person reappeared. In the gap of the curtains I could see it wasn't Mattie. It was female, a female vampire.

Her blond hair hung away from her shoulders. She was dressed in lingerie.

 _No, don't make conclusions, Alice. You don't even know if Matie is actually there!_ But it was too late.

 _Mattie… found someone else…_ I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat. I felt sick. I felt like crying.

 _Of course he would have found someone. It's been thirty years!_

That woman bent down disappearing from view before another, a man, ( _Mattie!)_ came into view. He was top naked. He hadn't changed at all, still having that scruffy hair that I saw when I ran home from uni, when I saw him next to me in bed after we both confessed-

When I saw him right now.

I groaned. I had to get away. I shuffled around on the branch and jumped off. I didn't look back at that window. I was too busy trying to keep my chest together.

* * *

Tears fell freely by the time I reached the car. It took me a few tries to get the key in the lock.

My chest hurt. My eyes stung from constantly rubbing them. _Why are you even crying? Surely on some level you knew Mattie wouldn't even wait thirty years for you? Even if he is a vampire._

I found myself vaguely wondering what thirty years is like for a vampire. Is it a blink of an eye for them?

"Alice!"

I froze. I haven't even unlocked the car door yet.

It came from him. It came from Mattie who stood just on the other side of the gate with an alarmed expression on his face. After all this time trying to search for him, I didn't want to see him right now.

I just went back to the car door. Where were the keys?

An arm snaked around my waist pulling me toward him. "Alice…"

"Don't 'Alice' me!" I yelled hitting his shoulders as he turned me around, his chest, anything to get him to release me. "Let me go!"

His other arm around my waist completed my prison. He pulled me tight in a hug. My cheek rested on his chest. It was a comforting feeling. I stopped hitting him to just grab his shirt as I broke down in tears, wiping my face on my sleeve. My cries echoed through the forest. My chest- no, my _heart_ ached like it had done overtime. I felt immensely tired.

 _Is the first time always hard?_

In my cries I realised he was petting my head, occasionally patting me or ruffling my hair. It was a calming feeling. I had to look up through my tears at the man who was still there beside me.

His sombre emerald eyes gazed at me. That hand that was in my hair came down to wipe the tears on my cheeks.

We didn't say anything. If there was something that should be said, I wasn't sure what it was exactly. Frankly I was just content enough to just stay in this man's arms.

When I had cried enough I lifted my head up. Should I ask this?

"Who was that woman?"

He _shuffled_. One of those really obvious 'I-really-don't-want-you-to-know' type shuffles, especially when he actually looked at his feet.

"I don't really want to ruin this moment, Alice."

I narrowed my eyes. He only hugged me tighter.

 _Stay mad, stay mad, stay mad…_

"She was just someone I did some stuff with."

I pursed my lips. Was I supposed to take that for an answer?

Mattie sighed. "You were gone for a good few years, Alice."

 _I knew it and this time he actually said it._ But it didn't make it any easier.

"Are you cold?"

I nodded. That immensely tired feeling came back again to haunt my body.

"Come with me to the mansion." For some reason he whispered those words.

"Okay."

* * *

I woke up fuzzy like I was floating. I was still tired.

"Morning, you." It came as a whisper.

Ah. That floating feeling was Mattie. My head was resting on his chest.

"Morning, afternoon, whatever right now is." I grinned.

"You're awfully happy now."

"Hm."

Last night was something that shouldn't have happened. In a right mind, I shouldn't have even stepped into the mansion with the same idea Mattie had. We'd shared the bed again.

Mattie's arm came around from the small of my back to ruffle my head. His eyes had gone blood red. I shot up shocked.

 _Start thinking he's a damn vampire, Alice!_

He frowned. "I'm not going to do anything. Rose is gone now."

 _Why's he talking about Rose for?_

The question must have been written on my face because he shrugged adding, "Rose had an unspoken thing concerning vampires and their feeders that they could take blood when they wanted." Mattie got up causing me to fall back on the bed. "There's something I need to tell you. I was going to tell you before… once you arrived back at Rose after visiting Paper but since that never happened…" His eyes, still blood red looked at me. I couldn't pinpoint what the emotion was behind them. The colour of his eyes made them look intimidating. But I knew it was far opposite that.

"I need you to promise me something."

"Okay."

"Alice, it's serious." He frowned sitting up properly now resting against the bed frame. "I need you to know that since you're going to be with me…" It didn't seem like he approved of that word or was it the overall phrasing? "You have to promise me that if I ever turn into a rogue, you will use Beta on me."

"What! No!" I cried out. What? How, how can he even say that?

"Alice!" Mattie clasped both of my hands. They were warm and comforting. "You have to understand that if I do become a rogue, I'd hunt you down? Nowhere is safe for you. I _struggled_ getting my fangs away from you. Bloodlust is very..." His face fell. It looked like he was in despair. "It's very hard to control."

 _Those thirty years without me were hard for him._

I closed my eyes and took a shaking breath. I don't want to feel what I felt back at Paper. The despair of knowing your seconds were even numbered.

The despair at facing death with no escape.

Knowing that the person who will kill you was someone you loved.

But neither did I want to lose Mattie. No, not anyone else. I killed Caim. Isn't that enough pain?

A finger traced my cheek softly making me open my eyes.

"Caim knew, didn't he? He agreed." I said it as a matter of fact.

"He did."

I groaned. "I don't want-"

"Hey." His interruption silenced me. "You're supposed to say, 'Mattie, I won't let you turn into a rogue.'"

His perception brought a smile to my face. "I won't let you become a rogue, Mattie."

He smiled before leaning over to trail kisses from my forehead right down to my neck where he bared his fangs.

* * *

I must have drifted off to sleep again because I woke up.

It was daytime. I didn't know the time. And it was hella quiet.

 _Oh right, I found Mattie._

 _Mattie?_

I was alone in bed.

My mind replayed back to what happened last night causing my hand to slap my neck to see what the damage was.

There was none. Not even the pain of it still in recovery. It was like nothing had happened.

I went into the bathroom to check on my supposed wound in the large mirror above the sink, but there was absolutely nothing there. Was the memory of Mattie's fangs on my neck a dream? Or did I recover that fast that there were no marks? That thought was unsettling so I shoved it to the back of my mind. I didn't want to think I was anything less than a human.

 _But… is it a bad thing to be a vampire?_

The girl in front of me swallowed. She looked too thin. Pale, too as if she didn't even get enough sun. When was the last time I looked at myself in the mirror?

All I needed were fangs and maybe red eyes and I could pass myself off as a vampire at a Halloween party.

No, that was bad.

I washed my face. Hopefully the hot water would bring some colour.

But then I looked at my hand. There was a trail of blood.

Quickly I dunked it in the soapy water then took it out again but it was still there.

 _Okay, okay stay calm._

By now my breathing was laboured and I had to take a breath, hold it for a couple of seconds then exhale. I had to do it a few times.

I wiped the blood off but it was staining the sink. _Shit._ Even though there was only a small amount of blood, the water had gone to a bright crimson shade.

I unplugged it then rinsed it out. It was clean but my _hands_ were absolutely covered in blood.

 _Fuck, fuck, what am I going to-_

"Alice!"

My head shot toward the open bathroom door where Mattie stood with a hand on the frame looking like he had to _run in a hurry_ to get here. There was a mixture of emotions written all over his face. All I could see was his shock and concern.

I quickly put my hands behind me.

"What's wrong? I could hear your breathing from downstairs." He took a step closer but I stepped back. "Alice?"

"Don't come closer." My voice shook. If he sees the blood...

He blinked. "Why not?"

"I… don't want you too."

"Are you hiding something? Alice, I've told you many times to just _talk_ to me."

Was that the first time he told me off?

I didn't say anything. I looked down at the floor like a child being caught doing something she shouldn't have.

But in a flash, a force gripped my wrists to bring them forward. I couldn't even react. I was left stunned to see both hands in front of me covered in thick blood. It was even under my nails.

"Mattie, stop!" I screamed trying to pull them away, at the same time looking away. I didn't want to see the damage and now that Mattie was right in front of me, so _close_ to my blood…

"Wh-"

"I don't know!" I cried. "I don't know how, I just found blood and it wouldn't come off and…"

I couldn't meet his gaze. I knew, absolutely _knew_ , that he was staring at me. Am I crazy?

But he did something unexpected. He brought a hand to his lips with his eyes staring back at mine and _licked_ a finger. "Well, I suppose it's up to me to clean them then?" Mattie continued to lick my hands as I stared at him through blurry eyes. He never broke eye contact.

It actually worked. My hands were getting clean.

Then I caught myself. I pulled out of his hold blushing harshly. "Mattie…"

"I'm here, Alice, because I need to be. Those thirty years taught me how much I needed you. I became rogue several times. I drank all of your blood that was in reserve in a short space of time yet it wasn't enough. No-" Mattie closed his eyes shaking his head. "I doubt it had a dent in my lust. But I knew one thing was that I _needed_ to be here with you. I don't care how much you may think it's wrong, may turn your back on me or anything else, I know that I will unconditionally be right beside you."

I closed my eyes too. He'll support me mentally even though I'm not right?

I sniffled. "I think that was your answer." At his confusion I explained, "how do I know you're… in _love_ with me and not with Caim still because of my blood."

Mattie smiled, kissing the tips of my fingers. "I love you, Alice."

His confession gave me a warm feeling, pricking the corners of my lips. My heart felt like it was going to burst. I nodded. "I love you too."

* * *

I asked Mattie to leave me after that. He had frowned but respected my decision and left. If only I knew what ran in that mind of his.

If only I was a better reader of vampire expressions.

I finished getting refreshed and I _oddly_ found new clothes in the wardrobe in the bedroom - a blue blouse and jeans, I headed downstairs.

I tried not to dwell on the clothes too much. They certainly weren't mine and they were female clothes.

Original Rose was just like The Manor apart from the modern things stuffed in it. The bedroom I had slept in was dominated by a four-poster bed - the bed Mattie and I slept in - complete with the thin veil covering the whole thing.

Beside it was a small mahogany looking table with a lamp on either side. Alpha and Beta lay the same way I left them, crossed on top of each other. I decided to leave them there. On my left was a wall covered in bookcases all stacked to the brim of various titles, those brown, green, blue hardback books that looked really old. I wouldn't be surprised if there were first editions among them. The wardrobe filled the space between the bedside table and the bookshelves.

Out, the landing was narrow covered in a dark red carpet that lead toward the stairs which were just before me. They ran against the wall straight to the foyer.

Mattie was in the kitchen, straight left once you left the stairs, which was weird. I just couldn't get my head around the fact that a vampire survived on blood but can still eat. He was cooking too. Two pans were on the stove with its contents bubbling away.

He looked up as I leaned against the archway. There were no doors on this floor as far as I could tell.

"Thought you might be hungry." He gestured to the food.

Mattie wore a grey shirt with a black pants, the ones you would wear for running. I had to push back those thoughts that lead me back to the bedroom again. Just doing that made me blush.

 _Just don't think about the bathroom!_

With a quizzical look which I guessed was because of my blush, he took two plates out from a drawer and started to plate the food up. I think he wanted to ask me 'what are you blushing for?' but he didn't.

"Spaghetti?" I said raising an eyebrow.

He grinned. "One of the recipes I know."

I giggled. "I would have been happy with a takeaway."

"Ah, but a takeaway wouldn't have the same feel."

The kitchen had a small extension on the worktop with some stools beneath it like a hotel we stayed at a long time ago. He placed our food there, filled up two glasses that were already there with water and gestured for me to sit.

"Acting like a pureblood vampire?" I grinning wildly.

"Darling, I am one."

Tell you what though Mattie's spaghetti was the best I'd tasted.

"There's also something I need to say to you."

He looked up at me. We hadn't cleaned up yet, just enjoying each other's company at the dinner table. But the

It seemed like he was expecting this. It certainly felt that way.

"At Paper, why did you jump?"

I could recall the dreaded memory easily. Running away from him scared out of my mind until he suddenly leaped high in the air with my gun pointed at him… Now that I thought about it, Caim did the same thing.

Mattie was in the middle of lifting his glass to his lips when I asked. But just as the words left my mouth, it visibility paused. Like I-can-see-it-with-my-human-eyes-paused. His eyes flashed their emeralds at me but they were devoid of emotion. It was only when he laid his glass down that he replied in the most monotone voice I had even heard from him, "It was for insurance."

I was pretty sure confusion and disbelief were written all over my face so slowly, so very slowly as if I had trouble pronouncing each word I said, "What does that mean?"

"It means I was giving you the choice to kill me or not. Do you remember Sarah's teachings? That vampires have a huge advantage over humans on the ground?"

I nodded. I understood this.

"By jumping I was letting gravity take over was me asking you to shoot me with Alpha or Beta."

With Caim's death I had both guns. With Mattie…

"I only had Alpha."

His eyes widened. "I thought you had both."

Is his vampiric memory failing him?

"No…" I shook my head lightly to try and dislodge a sense of uneasiness, but it didn't work so I took the tiniest sip of water. "I got knocked and lost both for a while. I only found one."

Those emerald eyes were still bulging as if he couldn't really understand or believe what I was saying. "I thought…" A pained look came across his face, one that tugged at my heart the wrong way. "I thought… I thought you would have killed me then."

* * *

After that revelation we spent some time in silence. I wasn't too sure what else I could say to that to be honest. If Mattie had died, what would I have done now? Would Iain have told me of his death or would I have been searching for him for a while? I sighed. There wasn't any point in thinking this way since I found Alpha first.

On to the next issue at hand…. How do I say it? Does Mattie know of his past?

Whilst I was just staring at my empty plate, Mattie was watching me. It was kind of unnerving. Maybe he knew that there was something I needed to get off my chest. I took a shaking breath. _Fuck it._

"Did anyone tell you about your past?"

He frowned, shaking his head as if that he forgot all about it.

"We found it in Paper. There was a document all about it."

"Was there? It's a bit weird that Paper should have information about me."

I told him that they experimented on him, explaining what happened, everything that I learned from that small folder. If only I had it in my hands-

I gasped. That contact! I squinted. I didn't take it out so maybe...

"Alice," Mattie looked like he was going to laugh but it didn't reach his eyes. They were still frowning. I only just realised I was making funny faces at him. "What exactly are you doing?"

"I thought I had the contacts in, you know, the ones I wore when I was at Paper."

"They were taken out a long time ago." My face fell. But it had the pictures on! "Hey," He held his hands up, "I believe you, Alice. I just don't remember that far back."

"Then… what's your first memory?"

Mattie closed his eyes but a pained look came over him and I suddenly felt stupid for asking something like that. I imagined it'll be full of bloodshed being a new vampire before he developed a conscience. "Sorry." I mumbled, "I shouldn't have said it."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Alice." Mattie held up his hand, got up off the table and went upstairs. In a few seconds (or milliseconds), he returned with something small between his fingers.

"This," he said, "is a copy of what was in the server. I have never accessed it because it was primarily for your eyes only." He sat back down to hand me it. It was a small memory card.

 _I stared at it as if it was an alien. A few months of work fits in my hand._

"There are a few copies of it for security purposes." Mattie continued. "I'm not sure on how many there are or who has them though."

"Do you know where a computer is?"

"We can buy one." He shrugged.

I was wracking my brain thinking where one would be and came to the conclusion that we need one in the future. There was none back at The Manor which just explains how much we relied on Rose. Going to the library was too… _public._

Three hours later we had a laptop in front of us in the kitchen. It wasn't connected to the internet for the time being which was ideal for now.

My hand holding the small chip hovered over the USB port. I was nervous. It was raw evidence from thirty years ago that I collected. What if it didn't have the images I took of Mattie's report? What if it was too dark to even read it if it was indeed there? Fuck me.

Mattie peered over my shoulder probably thinking why was I taking so long to plug the device in. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I breathed. Before swallowing and connected it. As usual the bubble popped up on the screen saying that a new device had been connected and that it was installing the drivers for it and all too soon it was complete and in the File Explorer, there was a single folder.

Several files popped up most of which was of images. I recognised a few of them and as I scrolled down others I didn't.

I found myself flicking through the image files skipping those that were too dark or too blurred to make out anything happening without more thought. It wasn't when I saw the pictures I took of Mattie's file in the archives of Paper that I had to back up and look closer.

"I don't remember this…" Mattie breathed past my ear. "They have all my details."

I looked at him shocked. "They're right? Like they have your information and it's all correct? You didn't give them it, did you?"

"Of course not. I would remember _that_." He replied.

I looked back at the screen and onto the next images which were different shots of Mattie's details closer up. Some were duplicates which I skipped. But when the images of the experiment came up, Mattie took over my seat and read.

I wasn't too sure what I was supposed to do. I couldn't tell if he was still reading the screen after a few minutes of just standing behind him, watching him slowly turning into a statue or he was in shock of what happened to him.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. But I didn't get a reply so I put a hand on his arm slowly peering at his face as I did so. His emerald pools were a dull green. He was looking at the keyboard frozen.

"I'll give you some time, then…" I was going to leave him alone for a few hours or however long it took for him to process but as I turned to go, I found his arms around my waist lifting me up on his lap as his face buried in the crook of my neck. Not much sound escaped from him but I could feel him groaning.

I called Iain just like he said and we both decided to spend a week together. There was no doubt in our minds that Iain would have work related stuff to tell us even though he wasn't our manager anymore. On the last day though, we checked into a hotel booked in our alternative names which was a change, I hadn't been called Lucy and I almost never heard Mattie being called David.

Mattie drove the rented car I drove to original Rose and I gave him the directions. The day was clear with some cloud cover in the sky but even so, Mattie still wore sunglasses. I think they were just in case his eyes changed colour.

Pretty soon we were at Iain's place and seated in his living room. Iain's eyebrows had shot up the first time he'd seen him and I don't think they were back on his face yet as he continued staring at the man right next to me who looked just as comfortable here as back in original Rose.

"Mattie…" Iain said. The name was a breath on his lips. "I'm never going to get used to the fact that you don't age."

 _Maybe Iain keeps forgetting he's a vampire too._ It was a refreshing thought, one that made me feel relieved that I wasn't the only one who thought it.

"I'm not human, Iain."

"I know, but still…" Iain wiped his glasses as if to reinforce the shock. "Anyway, I'm really glad that you found Mattie, Alice." He nodded. "I do have a favour to ask of you which is why I asked to tell you both." Iain paused to make eye contact.

 _It's that important?  
_ "I would like… you to reestablish Rose." My face must have betrayed my blank look. _Establish? As in start up Rose again? He wants us to start Rose up again? Didn't he say that Gold has a section for what Rose did?_

"To rebuild Rose, I mean."

 _Fuck, he does!_

Mattie leaned forward with his arms on his knees. "You mean you want Rose to exist again?"

"Yes."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It wasn't that I didn't agree with it - I hadn't made my decision on it. _Did I even have a decision on it?_

"But… you told me that there might be a section of Gold they dealt with what Rose did." I said. I know what he said, that it wasn't confirmed. So why did I say it?

Mattie shook his head. "I've heard rumours that there was no such thing."

"So what happened to Cindy and James?" I said.

"I know that they were recruited by Gold however…" Mattie gave me a serious look. "It wasn't a good promotion."

 _They were taken to Gold for something bad?_ I gave him a puzzled look to which he just shrugged. "Rose was the closest we had to knowing anything about Gold. I'm just repeating what rumors were in vampire society."

"So we're back at square one?" No, worse than square one, I still had that feeling that I didn't belong. Maybe it was because of the time zone I was thrust into.

Mattie sighed. "There's very little that we do know _for sure_ in the first place. But, on the topic at hand… Iain, why do you want Rose?"

"Because it's needed. A friend of mine in the police has had a large amount of 'suspicious' human deaths since the collapse of Rose. Of course they can't really say, 'vampires are killing humans', on TV, so getting people to know that this is happening, and to actually do something about it is a hard thing to do." Iain replied with conviction. "Rose was the only organisation that protected the line between these societies. If things continue people will know that vampires are the culprits. It might be fine if those vampires were rogue, but if they were sane…" As he shook his head, he took his glasses off to wipe them on his jumper. "I'm telling you this as one of the managers of the assassination division. It's… it _was_ my job. But I'm also telling you because you were the founder of Rose."

It looked like I didn't have that much influence in this topic. Heck I don't know if I'll even get a say once everything is said and done.

Throughout Iain's say Mattie had closed his eyes with a blank face. If I hadn't been with Mattie for so long, I probably wouldn't have noticed the tightening of his eyes or the pursed lips that showed he was trying to hold something back. I didn't want to see it on Mattie. It hurt just seeing him like that so I put a hand on his shoulder. His eyes fluttered open, shocked. I wanted to tell him something comforting but I wasn't sure what to say. I probably looked like a fish gasping in the air as my mind tried to grasp what little words were in my head.

His face softened. A hand came round to stroke my cheek. In a whisper he said, "Thank you, Alice, but I'm okay now." He then spoke to Iain, "Rose had many things wrong with it."

 _It did?_

 _You've only seen one angle of Rose!_ Another part of me hissed. It wasn't Professional Alice, thank God. I decided to call her Logical Alice because it sounded like she wouldn't give me a shock. _Remember there was R &D and management!_

"It's a good time to iron those out." It was said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"But…" The word left Mattie's lips as a whisper. He wasn't fine!

It then occurred to me that when I had that nightmare when Iain woke me up, I was exactly like Mattie now: sealed off from everyone, keeping his feelings to himself. Even when he and Iain go back many years, he still couldn't understand the support we all have for each other. I felt embarrassed that I just didn't realise it sooner.

"I get it now." I whispered.

Mattie still looked tortured as he gazed at me. Iain had a confused look which was understandable. "I just thought I was in Mattie's position that night." I gave a silent prayer that Iain knew what I meant. He nodded. I then gave another silent prayer saying I hadn't talked to him about my PTSD. I hadn't ever thought about going to see a… doctor?

"Mattie," I made sure I looked him straight in the eyes. "You told me dozens of times to _talk_." I purposely emphasised the word. "It's only now that I'm seeing this that I know how hard it is to do that simple job but it's even harder to try and guess what's wrong in the first place. It's emphasised even more because you're a vampire. So I'm going to rephrase the 'just talk' to 'say what's on your mind and say it without a consequence'. Between all three of us, I know that all of us support each other professionally _and_ personally and I doubt that would change in the future." I paused. _Did I just say and personally? Should I have said that? Fuck sake, I've said it now anyway._ I looked at Mattie and Iain to assess the damage I'd done.

Mattie just stared at me like I said something stupid. That wasn't stupid, surely? I looked at Iain who had the same expression plastered on his face.

A few moments went by before I couldn't stand their gazes. "What?"

Iain was speechless. You could practically see the gears working behind his eyes as his mouth opened and closed.

Mattie looked relieved. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders pulling me close so my head rested on his shoulder. "You're right. I'm sorry, I'm making it harder for everyone." I felt his nose graze my hair as if he was talking in my scent. All too soon he released me. Directing toward Iain, he said, "I just… don't want the same thing to happen. What happened to the other founders of Rose."

So that's what he was worrying about, the other three founders… wait, didn't Iain tell me Mattie killed them? I shot an alarmed look at Mattie. It was involuntary, I shouldn't have done it. I hardly knew what the circumstances were, I didn't think of asking.

He was frowning, I think. His head was in his hands. I think it was the first time I saw him like that. It seemed unnatural. Was it a vampire thing to not show weakness?

"Mattie…" What do I say? I didn't know anything about his past. Heck, I even agreed to find out a portion of his past.

"It won't happen." Iain's statement cut through the atmosphere. He had both of our undivided attention. "It won't happen purely because it's the past. We know what happened, the consequences and the changes it made in the future.

"Rose… If you rebuild Rose now you're in a better position than when you started. People know what it does, its success stories and its failings. There will be people who support it now than having to rely on the name of a well known pure blood vampire. You can do it, Mattie." Iain leaned forward, "I know."

Silence descended upon the three of us. I felt like I should really say something but Iain made a logical agreement.

"Alright." The word was a whisper on Mattie's lips. Was he in agreement of Iain's big speech or did he make peace with the demons in his head? When he had his head in his hands it felt like there were more people arguing with him than just Iain. I wasn't sure Iain even heard it if I heard it only barely.

Strangely Mattie turned to me, looking at me squarely in the eyes. "Alice, what do you say? If you agree with me, we'll try setting up Rose again."

This is it. This is my input. And it's the decision that changes everything!

I swallowed. "I agree with Iain. I don't know what happened to those other founders and I don't want to know unless I need to."

 _There. I said it._

A smile played on Mattie's lips. But it didn't reach his eyes. _Was it really that bad?_

"Alright!" Iain clapped. "How about we have some bubbly to celebrate the life and the coming future with Rose!"


	31. Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

 _A few months later._

 _No!_

I lost track of the little shit I was chasing. A man, a _newly turned vampire_ in his twenties was attacking another male. He was so new he didn't know he had vampire speed. It took me a fraction of a second to decide to go after him and not Mattie who tended to the victim.

Actually I didn't really consult him and just shot off.

I assumed that once Mattie got home to the nearest hospital, he would catch up with me and probably be either mad as fuck with me going after a _vampire_ or really worried. Or both.

It was raining so much so that my steps caused a rippling effect, splashing water in my shoes. It was night. We were in a town centre with the lights of some shops still lit, reflecting off the thin layer of water on the ground.

There wasn't that many people out here, thank God. I only had to worry about staff on retail shops ending their… _night._

My footsteps slowed to a stop. I was panting, my breath forming condescension. Alpha and Beta were in my hands absolutely soaked and cold.

Looking around I couldn't see the bastard so I did something I shouldn't and stowed one in its holster, putting on gloves so I don't accidently shoot because of the water. I grabbed the gun out holding it up to the sky as I hugged the wall making my way through the centre.

I had passed a couple of blocks when I heard a woman scream. I saw her running down the main pathway toward me. She saw me with the guns then screamed again. I caught sight of him lumbering after her like he was a barrel just rolling down a hill. He hadn't seen me even though I was in plain view so I took aim and shot his thigh with Alpha. _Rookie._

With a yelp he fell on his face, both arms holding his wound. I ran at him, taking advantage of his lack of vampire knowledge. In no time I holstered Alpha and jammed Beta at his head as I straggled over him. No way in hell was I going to lose sight of him again.

"Stay down!" I shouted having to readjust my position as he thrashed out.

"I did nothing wrong!" He cried out, shielding his face with his hands.

Now that I got him, I just need to wait till Mattie got here. "Yeah, attacking someone is classed as 'doing nothing wrong' - stop moving!"

The guy froze. His eyes trailed at the design on Beta. In an instant his breathing became harsher. He whimpered. "I thought Rose was demolished." _You're a new vampire but you know of Rose? Who the fuck are you?_

I was going to answer him before the wind blew my hair to the side and I k _new_ Mattie was here. I looked at him from the corner of my eye for the indication I needed. The slightest tilt of his head was it. I clambered off the man. Mattie quickly held him down with his arm at the guy's neck.

I took out my phone and pressed for the speed dial as I holstered Beta. It was answered on the first ring.

"Hunt."

"We got him." I said. "What do you want us to do?"

"Give him a warning. And let him know Rose has got eyes on him. We'll deal with the aftermath for the victim."

"Alright."

I held the phone away as I repeated what Sam said to Mattie who got off him but held onto his wrist. The sorry guy was trying to get his hand free yelling obscenities at Mattie who was watching me.

To the phone I said, "All done, we're coming back."

"If you're letting me go then _let go_!" He was shouting.

"We will." I ended the call. "Just know that Rose will know if you're doing something wrong." I bored my eyes into him.

"But Rose is-"

"Rose is alive." Mattie said letting go. The guy shot off into the night faster than I was tailing him.

"Well." I said staring at his back.

"Well, indeed." Mattie said turning to me. "Why did you shoot off after him?" I couldn't read his face. Everything on it was just frozen. Why is it when I need to read it, I can't?

My mind was blank. I blinked several times as I tried to get the cogwheels running. "I…"

Mattie took a step toward me. His expression changed. His eyes became harsher as if he was looking at his prey, absolutely focused on his target. _Oh, shit, he's mad._

"Answer me, Alice. You could have been seriously hurt if that guy knew what strengths he had."

My mouth opened and closed and still I couldn't form a reply. It was dry. All I thought was, 'but they're all what if's'.

Mattie kept walking toward me. It was only when he was about a metre in front of me, that I started to step back. It was the only thing I could do.

"Alice…" His eyes narrowed. His pace quickened as did mine.

Until I couldn't anymore. My back was pressed against the walls of a shop. The reflections of the lights on the water made him look menacing. In the darkness, Mattie's emerald eyes were the only thing that could be seen on his face. It chilled my blood to the core. My breathing became harsher, more frequent.

But this was not the feeling of being chased by a rogue. That was the only reason I didn't pull Beta.

Mattie pinned me to the wall. An arm was beside my head against the wall while his other was tilting my chin to meet his gaze. And damn, they burned.

"You haven't answered my question."

I swallowed shaking my head to dislodge the shock of Mattie's stance with me. It was then the wheels started moving.

"This whole job is dangerous!" I frailed my arms around to emphasize my point.

"Rule two! It kinda covers all situations, don't you think?"

Mattie looked stunned. His eyes were wide as if he saw something so unusual it left him unable to think properly. Or maybe my jumbled up thoughts invaded his.

I continued, pointing a shaking finger at him. "Furthermore are you going to say this in every case we deal with? It's getting tiresome and needless to say that question is redundant considering the time we've been partners." I fumed. This was our fourth… fifth job in so many months.

He narrowed his eyes, those green eyes turning almost into slits, "you're right. But it doesn't change the fact that on some cases you just run into the danger! I might have my vampire speed, but I cannot hurry something that's out of my hands. You _need_ to tell me what you're going to do, even if its a tilt of the head, a point or a saying." He ran his hand through his hair exasperated. "You need to improve on your communication."

 _Is that why he asked that constantly?_

In the last few cases we did, I did run without talking to him, that's true, but there was a part of me that said, 'I don't want to see Mattie as a rogue' and another part of me that says the chances of that happening are higher when we're on a case. It was this point that I didn't want him to know because… because I couldn't stay by his side as his feeder. Neither as his… girlfriend? Lover? Whatever I was to him that kept me next to him.

I knew I should tell him about my bloody hands the moment we stepped back into original Rose, now just called Rose, where Sam and Iain were waiting once we had some time off after agreeing to rebuild the organisation. Apparently Sam had a strong influence in vampire society and was popular due to his beliefs. I only hope it was because of his character and not just as a vampire.

So why didn't I? He has a right to know.

"I-I'm sorry." I looked down as if I were a child being told off by a teacher or a parent.

"Another point is because…" Mattie paused. He paused so long that I had to check he was still there. He had a strange expression, somewhere in between frowning and… I wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was a smile but it wasn't happy. _Is he smirking at me?_

"Because right now you're the only person that matters to me." In an instant, he was in front of me, wrapping his arms around me, rubbing his nose through my hair.

 _Right now? What does that mean?_

I looked up at him. His eyes were emerald with the kindest look I had ever seen.

"I'll try…"

But in the next moment Mattie was sombre. "You're keeping something from me."

My gut took a nosedive. _He knows._ Technically he already knew but didn't know that this thing I had was about my hands.

I tried to keep a straight face. "I am but I want to be ready to tell you."

He closed his eyes frowning. It was a stab in my heart even though I knew I was doing the same to him by keeping this secret.

"Mattie, I-"

Sighing he released me. "Take your time."

"Mattie…" _Shit, that wasn't the right thing to say. Is there anything I could say to make it better?_

"We should get back, Iain and Sam are waiting for us."

* * *

The news had spread. News of Rose's rebirth had spread like wildfire in the vampire society. I had not heard it myself, it was what Sam said.

We were sat in the main dining room in that mansion in the forest. Mattie called it 'Silver Lining' and I, 'Original Rose'. Apparently it was named 'Silver Lining' after what had happened to the founders whom I still didn't understand what had happened. Surely I wasn't the only one in the dark about this? I made a mental note to ask Mattie later.

When you first enter Silver Lining you're greeted with a large lobby. Hanging from the ceiling was a silver chandelier that was fully lit. It matched the smaller lights on the walls although they weren't as fancy. A staircase wound its way along the right wall covered in a red carpet. Along the walls were round mirrors, drawers with a vase of flowers and paintings of various scenery.

An archway directly in front led to the dining room where a couple computers were. On the left was the living room all dressed out in a modern design, the silver theme running through with the silver chandeliers, the wall that was on the far side of the room covered in a flowery wallpaper.

The right, however was a study room with a wall covered in bookcases and a large table in the centre of the room just like the dining room.

The bathroom and _several_ bedrooms (I didn't bother counting), were on the second floor. There looked to be an attic since there was a trapdoor on the landing but I hadn't found a time to explore.

 _I wonder why they set up the computers in the dining room and not in the study…_

I went straight to my bedroom and collapsed on the bed face first. My room was the very last room on your right on the first floor. It held a double side bed (don't ask me, all the rooms had a double sized bed).

The whole place was magnolia, a strange taste compared to the silver that ran throughout downstairs. It had a simple wooden desk on the right with a laptop and some stationary. On my left was a window with a bookshelf that ran across the entire wall and just fit under the wall. It was mostly empty though. Some books lay in a small pile in the corner. They were biographies of people I didn't know and so, wasn't interested about.

I should really _talk_ to Mattie. I did before, didn't I? It wasn't that bad… I think.

 _Alice._ It was Logical Alice speaking. I think she might be keeping track on what Professional Alice is doing since I haven't seen her in a while. Part of me was relieved though. I don't particularly look forward to her being bloody in front of me. Not again at least. But the other part wanted to know what happened to her. Is she getting help?

 _You should. He has a similar lifespan._

Her thought rooted me. It was that sort of light bulb moment that instantly made me decide. _I need to do it._

 _Yes_! She chimed.

"Alice?" I think it was Sam. I just mumbled a response. I had barely slept during the day.

"Alice…" His tone suggested he wanted me to give him an actual response. I sighed mentally then rolled over on my back. It was Sam.

"Good work today."

"Thanks." _What's he thinking? Scrap that, where's Mattie?_

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Sure?"

"I am, Sam." I sat up. Was it possible that one person could suddenly make you tired? And I don't just mean physically tired. "Do you know where Mattie is?"

"Yeah, he's downstairs with Iain. I think they're talking about Rose." He said 'I think'. I suppose even Sam was trying to give them privacy despite his vampire hearing.

"Thanks."

I decided to head downstairs while I still had this light bulb moment.

Mattie and Iain were where I thought they would be, in the dining room. They were talking in hushed voices so I wasn't exactly sure if I should even intrude but when I was about to knock on the door frame, Mattie stopped in the middle of a sentence and turned around to look at me. Iain followed his gaze. Next thing I knew they were looking at me smiling.

"Is something wrong?" Iain asked.

"Oh, uhm, I'll…" I stammered. That light bulb moment I had seemed to dim. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No." Mattie said.

I shuffled on the spot. "Can I steal Mattie for a while?"

"Sure." Iain said, then he told Mattie who stood up, "we'll continue this another time?"

He nodded before walking toward me.

I smiled. "Hi." I must have had a goofy smile on my face because Mattie was grinning at me.

Maybe my light bulb moment wasn't dimming. Does this mean he's alright with me?

"Hey. You wanted me?"

I took his hand not knowing where I should go. If I go into the study, Iain might hear in the next room. There was also Sam but considering what he said earlier, I wasn't sure if it was true or not or whether he was just saying it because he wanted to.

I took him upstairs with me straight to my own room. _The familiar surroundings will help me find the courage._

After closing in the door behind me, I turned to see Mattie standing in the middle of the room with a weird expression, as if he knew what I was going to say and couldn't wait to hear it. His eyes were friendly but his mouth twitched like he was frowning.

I ignored his expression. I have him now.

I took a breath. I took several deep breaths. As I leaned against the door, I said, "Mattie about before with that vampire…"

He shook his head. "It's fine."

 _I should have sat down._ "No, because you always say that I have to communicate more and I don't want to be a hypocrite." I decided on a direct approach: To just blurt it out. It might not be the best option but I think I'll be able to just talk and decide or argue if need be.

"Iain… Iain said I might be ill." I felt my face reddening so I looked down. But it didn't stop me from plowing on. "I mean you saw it before… my hands…" I trailed off.

Mattie was silent. So silent that I had to lookup to see that he was actually listening. He was absolutely still. I tried to read his face but I couldn't make anything out.

It was only when I frowned in my frustration that he said, "is that what was bothering you?"

I shrugged. "Well that and your 'Alice, you have to start telling me what's wrong.'"

He walked toward me. When he was right in front of me, he took my hands. "I'm sorry, Alice. Sometimes I get frustrated."

I was taken back. I didn't expect him to apologise.

"I'll _try_ to talk."

Mattie tilted my face upward with just a brush of his fingers on my chin and gave me a kiss on the lips. I think my face was frozen because he smiled.

I wasn't sure what exactly possessed me, but I launched myself at him to give a huge hug. The level of his support and his love blew me away. I didn't have any words to describe how important just having it meant to me. Of how he dealt with my massive amount of questions. Of how he just dealt with me in total. This man in my arms that had was a one-of-a-kind vampire. What would I do if I didn't have him? He was the first thing I looked for when I woke up.

"Hey," he said into my hair. "don't worry about that, okay?" He paused to look at my face. "You're hard to read right now."

" _I'm_ hard to read?" _What._ "And you tell me to talk!" I gave him my 'that's bullshit' face.

All he did was grin.


	32. Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

"So you're coming with me?" Mattie asked me.

It was the next night. Everyone was standing around in the lobby. Earlier we had another meeting on how to progress Rose and that was to actually be in vampire society rather than just to hear rumours. I wasn't sure what exactly we were going to do but by the sound of it, it was a security.

I nodded. I was determined to do better this time. Since I was heading out of Rose, I kind of thought this was a case.

But I knew this was different. I would be seeing a different part of society.

I wasn't going to carry Alpha and Beta. Sam took care of them.

"Let's go then!" Mattie said.

* * *

So now we're out on the road. Mattie was driving with his sunglasses on, he must have put a set in each of the cars we used. We were in a black rental car, a Volvo this time, thanks to Sam. It was comfortable though. It looked big on the outside but on the inside, it felt really snug. It was a weird feeling.

Today was a cloudy day, I think. It was hard to determine what kind of day it had been. All I saw were the dark clouds hanging over us as we drove threatening to dump their load of water all over us. It was unusual to see a guy in sunglasses when it's dark. I wasn't scared of his driving. I probably might be if he was human.

Cars drove past us since we were in the left lane, flashing off their headlights. We were on the motorway heading to vampire society although I wasn't sure how to even get there.

"Mattie?"

"Yes?"

"This sounds like a stupid question but where exactly is vampire society?"

A grin broke out on his face.

"Don't laugh at me!" I pouted looking through the window. Rain wiped the window.

A hand patted my knee. "Ah, I'm sorry, Alice." He chuckled. "Everything under the night sky is vampire society." He took a left turn past a lit up sign with directions that I couldn't see since we were going too fast. "Vampires have different names for places, you'll know it as Milton Keyes."

I'd never been to Milton Keyes so I was a bit excited.

I looked at him. With only the lights of the dashboard, I could see the lower half of his face only slightly lit. The corner of his mouth was upturned, the only evidence there was of Mattie's grin.

The upper half, however, was completely covered in darkness. Not to mention the shadows of the sunglasses he wore.

"What exactly are we doing there?" I asked.

A breath escaped his lips as he mumbled, "I should really ask Iain to include you in the briefs, although I'm not entirely sure why he hasn't invited you." Then in a louder voice he added, "Iain thought it was time to expose you to vampire society since you're only used to security. He seemed apprehensive which might be why he didn't ask you. Although I know you'll do well." He turned his head to give me a full on grin.

"M-Mattie!" I pushed his shoulder to get him to watch the road then I realised I was grinning myself. _What this man does..._

"Ah, it's fine, Alice!"

"But are you sure?" I whispered. It put an end to his playful mood.

"Sure of what?"

"Sure that I'll do well in this society?" _What about being human?_

Mattie took forever to reply. "You'll do fine, Alice. If anyone even plucks a hair out of your head, I'll beat them up."

His _enthusiasm_ (if it could be called that) scared me. I couldn't think of anything to reply with.

"We'll actually be meeting someone. You know her."

A vampire… a female vampire…

"Sarah?"

"No."

"Cindy?"

"No."

I pouted. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

That smile was back. "Oh no, it's a surprise!"

I had forgotten how much I loved Playful Mattie.

* * *

At about midnight we arrived, or so Mattie said. We were just in front of a set of thick gates surrounded by a large field. Behind us were the buildings that belonged to Milton Keyes making it seem like this field was the only thing that separated human and vampire society.

Up ahead was a narrow, cobbled road that could probably only just fit a van. Olden buildings in black, a dirty white shade and brown with the smell of dust bordered it, were just behind this gate. There were beams on the outside of them. I suppose it was for design.

The narrow pathway lead to another, larger road going horizontal. Sometimes horse pulled carriages could be seen, their drivers holding the reins. Strangely enough that was all I could see. There were no people walking past.

Vampire society was like a ghost town.

I noticed all of this as I climbed out of the car. I had to hang on to the open door because my impression was completely different to the scene before me.

Mattie came round to pull me off the car and to close the door. "We'll take a carriage from here."

"Are you sure no one's going to like… nick the car?"

"No." He even had to shake his head as if just saying it wasn't enough. "This field serves as a car park. People in those houses over there-" He nodded toward Milton Keyes, "know they are neighbors of a city occupied by vampires and you don't really want to deal with a vampire." Surprisingly enough Mattie wagged his eyebrows.

I looked at him as of to say, 'really?'

"But on a serious note, since we don't _technically_ have the support of Rose, there are a few things you need to know."

I suppose he paused there for emphasis which was my queue to ask a question. "What do you mean by 'support'?"

Mattie looked up at the sky. "Hm, it's because Rose would have retaliated if a member got hurt during security or anything other than that."

I gaped at him. "So what might happen if I stepped through those gates and got injured?"

"You won't." It was said with determination and confidence. He paused again in thought. "Alice, what do you know about a vampire?"

I frowned. He was changing the subject for some reason so I just went with it. "Well, they have a long life, I suppose they don't really age… they are physically strong, have better eyesight and hearing… I can't think of anymore." I shook my head.

"But in summary?"

"They're better than a human in every way?"

"Yes."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm saying you need to know what they can do and how little you can do against one."

I swallowed, paling. It was just like what happened at Paper. "I already know that." I whispered.

Mattie put a hand on my shoulder as he pulled me in. "I'm sorry." A finger touched my chin to lift my head up to his emerald eyes. "I need to make sure that you know who surrounds you. Especially now without Rose."

I nodded.

"There's also another thing." Mattie gently turned my head to look at Milton Keyes. "You see the people there, right? Their movements, where they're looking, where they're going, their speed, etc. It's the same with us. Although you may not see what a vampire does, vampires see each other's movements."

I looked at him frowning. "You're saying that vampires can keep up with other vampire movements? Just like humans with other humans? That means it's a level playing field?"

Mattie nodded.

"That's how you'll protect me? By anticipating people's movements?"

"Yes."

"You better get that accurate." I mumbled.

"Oh, I will." He smirked, then tilting his head, he said, "shall we?"

I nodded. Mattie guided me toward the gates and pushed. It was open. I shouldn't really be surprised, but I was.

It was like we were stepping back in time. The cobblestones felt weird under my trainers, like I was going to trip over. On closer inspection the wooden walls that lined this small pathway were mouldy patches which made the wood even darker.

When we got to the larger road I could see how far back in time we were. The buildings opposite us were in a dirty white shade with black beams supporting the structure. On some houses they had a severely overhanging balcony as if it were a room.

The road was still cobbled with black iron lamp posts protecting their flames, giving light to the night.

I scanned the place. It was completely quiet. No one was even around. I couldn't even hear any carriages that Mattie said we would take. There was more dark spots under a fire lit road. It was eery. I didn't like it.

In the darkness of an alleyway between two houses, I could see _something_ there and I realised that I was absolutely relent on Mattie's observation and simultaneously useless without Alpha and Beta.

Suddenly an arm pressed against my shoulders making me jump. I almost screamed if it wasn't for Mattie putting himself in my eyesight. It was his arm around my shoulders.

"Calm down, Alice." He said gently.

I took several breaths to steady myself. Once I had calmed down Mattie started us walking one way.

After a few minutes a carriage could be heard coming our way. It took me by surprise when it suddenly stopped where we were.

It was a black carriage coupled with two black horses almost hidden in the surrounding darkness. The curtains in the carriage were open showing no one inside.

The driver had the reins in his hands. He looked at both of us with his red eyes but as he looked at me, his gaze didn't wander. I stared back. How rude is he to stare at someone?

Eventually he broke contact, turning to Mattie saying, "Matthew Taylor?"

"Hello." Mattie's tone was one you would use to state a fact. To me he said, "Alice, hop into the carriage."

With an unsure face I did what he asked. The seats were a deep red quilted colour but it didn't quite match the shade of blood red eyes. One was behind the driver facing the back and the other facing forward. It might be able to seat six people. I sat facing forward.

The door was still open so I saw Mattie looking up at the driver talking. I couldn't hear anything though. He looked a bit stressed until he fished in his pockets and gave the driver something before taking the seat next to me.

We didn't say a word until the door closed. The second it did Mattie sighed, wrapping a comforting arm around my shoulders.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"The driver wanted to know what's happening with Rose so I just said I couldn't tell him anything."

I looked ahead. There was a small porthole where I could see the driver's feet. "He can hear us?"

"No, no." Mattie shook his head. "You'll be surprised to see how much vampire's love and miss privacy. These windows," he indicated all of them around us, "they are soundproof. Most houses in vampire society will have them."

"Even vampires are fed up with their hearing?"

Mattie grinned. "You'd be surprised at what things a vampire can pick up."

Flashes of _something_ ran through my mind. I probably shouldn't ask but I did. "What kind of things?"

"Oh, Alice." He tugged me so I fell feeling his mouth just grazing my ear. "What if you and I were in bed?"

I blushed harshly, pulling back so hard I crashed into the door on my side of the carriage. I didn't know what to say.

Mattie pulled my arm to get me back next to him. With a grin that could light up the deepest, darkest thoughts, he kissed my cheek as he wrapped his arms around me. His head rested on my neck as if he was going to take a bite.

Just then the carriage stopped. Mattie sighed, releasing me to open the porthole in front of us and asked the driver if we were at our destination. We were, so we hopped out.

Before us was a mansion that looked similar to The Manor. It was a dark colour but its corners had a wooden enforcement in an even darker shade. The windows, that held six or eight or so panels in one, were a beige colour. They were rounded at the top to reveal a little sunrise kind of design. I couldn't exactly see how many there were where I stood, it was far too dark, plus there were only lights on around the front door. A lantern hung above the door.

Mattie was at my side in no time after paying the driver. I heard the noise of the horses hooves drift away in the wind.

"Is this the place?"

"Oh yes, Alice."

He walked to the front door and knocked.

Just as soon as he did, it was opened by a woman with blond hair in a pink blouse and a black skirt who recognised Mattie immediately. "Mattie! You're finally here! We were wondering when you were going to come!" She hugged him then she turned her attention to me. In a reassuring voice she glided her way toward me and took both of my hands in hers. For a vampire, they were warm. "Ah, Lucy Henderson?"

I nodded. Who was this woman? I know her? I racked my brain but I just didn't know this vampire. Was she at Rose? I barely looked at anyone else other than the people I was on familiar terms with.

Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue though, it was hard to turn away. If I could, I'd give Mattie a look that said, 'help me'.

"Alice, my name is Elizabeth King. I'm Amanda King's mother."

 _King? As in the Amanda I met at Paper?_

"Hello." _Oh shit, it sounds like I wasn't sure I should have said that._ "I'm sorry, Amanda as in-"

Suddenly there was a shriek from the house and the wind blew my hair back. Just at the door was a young girl probably about twelve in a red and white dress. It was Amanda.

 _Oh, thank God she's fine!_

I grinned at her. She bundled up to me and hugged me. "Lucy!"

She was shorter than I, her head just hit my chin. I nuzzled my nose in her strawberry smelling hair. "How are you?"

"I'm much better since you helped me!" She was all smiles, I couldn't help but reciprocate it. As she hugged me I looked at Elizabeth who had a knowing look on her face at our reunion. Mattie was the same. "Mattie, thank you." I felt like I should say it. I probably wouldn't have visited Amanda if it weren't for him.

Even though I had a feeling that we were here for a reason.

"Would you like to come in?" Elizabeth offered her hand which was gestured to the open door that allows light to pour out in the darkness.

I accepted.

We were in a narrow lobby that had a staircase zig-zagging up to the first floor. There was a little landing where a window sat allowing the dim light from outside to stream inside.

Two doors were on either side of us, the one on my left, a small living room with a kitchen connected to it. I couldn't see what was on the one on my right as the door was closed.

Amanda took my hand pulling me upstairs. "Come!"

I looked back at Mattie with that 'help me' face just as I rounded on the small landing for the second set of stairs. The bastard was grinning.

"Amanda! Wait!" I panted. She was so fast every step I took made me think I was going to fall flat on my face in the wooden flooring.

Suddenly she froze pulling my arm and waist back as I flew forward. I had to lean on my knees to catch my breath.

Once I had, I realised I was in a young girl's bedroom. There was a huge four poster just like the one I had back in Silver Lining, only the design was different. Bright pink veils were draped from the top to conceal the bed that dominated the room with what looked like white bed sheets.

On my left at an angle to the far corner of the wall was a dressing table with a large mirror that unfortunately reflected myself. It was on top of a white table complete with two sets of drawers on either side. A stool matched it. On my right was a huge image of a landscape of a high place overlooking a jungle and the sea or an ocean in the distance. It was breathtaking. I really didn't expect a vampire to own something like this. It even had so much detail. I could see each stroke the closer I gazed.

"Do you like it?"

A voice shocked me out of my own little bubble. Amanda was smiling at me from in front of the bed.

"I love it. Did you do this?"

She nodded.

"That's amazing." I placed a hand on it. It was rough with the strokes so I only gilded over.

"I finished it years ago." She smiled at me fondly. "It was the year that you saved me. Thank you."

The depth of her appreciation was touching. "You're very much welcome, Amanda."

"You know," she looked shyly up at me, her lashes just catching on the hair that draped across her face. "If there was anything that you would like me to do, you can ask away." her hands bundled in her dress as she looked down at the floor. Or her hands, it was hard to tell from this angle.

"That might just be the case." A professional voice projected itself from behind me at the doorway. It was Mattie's voice.

He walked into the room to put an arm around my waist. It made me a bit nervous making a statement like that in front of another vampire.

In the same tone of voice he said to Amanda, "we need your approval to authorise Bloody Rose."

"Why?"

Again the voice came from the doorway. This time it was Elizabeth's voice.

 _At least that was the last time…_

Mattie turned around pulling me with him to engage her in our conversation. "Because Gold is doing shit all in dealing with the vampire and human boundary."

Elizabeth was nodding as she entered our small circle. "I've seen groups of vampires passing through the gate during the daytime. When they come back they stink of blood." She stared off into the pictured landscape mumbling, "is that what they were doing?"

"Have you heard of anything about Gold?" I asked. I was addressing Amanda and Elizabeth but I looked at Elizabeth. I didn't really know her but since Mattie took me here…

"No. Not for a few decades."

 _How can they keep the clean line between the two societies in a few decades?_ I couldn't emphasis it any better.

"I know what you're thinking." Elizabeth said looking at me. _Damn, are my thoughts written all over my face again?_

"You may think it's up to the vampires to put things right."

She paused so I dove right in, "Aren't they? They're supposed to deal with vampire problems?" I vaguely remembered Sarah telling me that during my studies.

 _And this is a vampire problem._

Amanda, who I forgot during our standing up meeting (Mattie's arm was still securely wrapped around my waist, my hip practically digging into his leg), grabbed my arm to cling to looking all innocent and like she didn't know what on Earth we were talking about.

Elizabeth was nodding her head as she weighed something in her mind.

But it Mattie who answered, "The thing was when Rose was first introduced we had a bunch of problems, remember?" I nodded wide eyed. "Gold was established then, did you know that?"

"It was?" I thought Rose was the first even though it never really crossed my mind to ask about it.

"It thought that Rose would be pretty useless as Gold was doing the job."

"Which it's supposed to be doing now." I said. I got a brush on the cheek for a reward, burning my face.

"So it eventually agreed with Rose's introduction. So now with Rose dealing with this line between human and vampire, the Council did not think of it anymore. Now it sees what's happening as something Gold has to deal with in that humans are unfortunately a victim." He shrugged, "the Council just sees vampire problems _only._ "

I sort of understood what he meant. I think it might be because I didn't know what exactly they do in detail.

"Isn't there a reason why Rose was shut down." Elizabeth said. "I don't want to put our name on it just to realise it has baggage."

"It collapsed because of what Paper were doing." Mattie's arm around my waist tightened. He lead me to sit at the edge of the bed. Amanda sat with me on my lap so I wrapped my arms around her to secure her. It seemed like Mattie didn't like it since the arm around me came up to my shoulders to rest my head on his shoulder.

Elizabeth folded her arms with narrowed eyes. "You have to give me more than that."

Mattie shook his head. "Basically many bad things, you're already pry to that…"

She blanched. "But having a farm… that has a fine, right?"

"Paper was doing far more illegal stuff."

She froze looking at Amanda. I think that if she were human, I would have seen her swallow or be concerned. After some time she sighed nodding. "Alright."

"Alright?" From the corner of my eye, I saw Mattie's head tilt upward slightly. She had his attention.

"We'll authorise you."

Mattie grinned. He got up to give her a handshake and a massive hug. "Great! Thank you!"

After that we went our separate ways at least for a few hours. Mattie decided to stay behind to talk to Elizabeth while Amanda showed me around. I didn't know what time it was when I ended up sleeping in the spare bedroom that Amanda pointed out for me.

* * *

Something was tickling me. I had to move to make it stop but it seemed to follow me around.

 _Why won't it stop?_

I sighed before I forced open an eye. A tousle of brown hair was just above my chest.

I must have mumbled something because that fluff of hair invited a familiar face.

"Morning, you," Mattie said smiling gently.

I moaned a reply then rolled over on my side to go back to sleep.

"No, Alice… don't sleep."

I felt a pair of hands under the top I wore.

But suddenly they were tickling me! I burst in giggles, my sleep time over just like that. "Mattie!"

I tried to grab his hands but they evaded me. Almost like he knew where I was going to aim for.

All too soon the tickling stopped. _Finally!_

I stared at him panting like a dog.

"Good morning, Alice."

"What an alarm, Mattie." I couldn't help the grin plastering itself all over my face. "What time is it?"

"It's about three pm. I woke you up to tell you that I have to go out."

 _Where? "_ You're leaving me in vampire society?" _And you're going in the daytime?_

He grinned. "Yeah. But you shouldn't worry about security. Elizabeth won't let anything happen to you, she's also a pure blood too."

I pouted. I knew she was a pure blood but it was like Mattie didn't get it that I just didn't want him to go.

"Hey, don't pout." He pinched my bottom lip. "I'll be back soon, and in the meantime you're free to explore the town."

I sat up. Mattie sat next to me with an arm wrapped around my shoulders just like yesterday. _This is nice. I like being next to Mattie like this._

"Explore the town and you just said not to worry about security." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Vampire society is pretty quiet during the day. Most of the _action-"_ Suddenly his face was too close, so much so that he stole a kiss from me. Immediately I turned scarlet. "-is at night, although you may encounter a few vampires..."

I sniffed. "Fine. What are you doing?"

"I have to see some people. Since I haven't been a part of society in a while, there's a lot for me to catch up on. You know, pure blood vampire duties." Mattie winked making me blush even harder. _How is this guy mine?_

Innocently I locked eyes with him then wrapped my arms around his torso.

"Alice…" Now it was his turn to try and grab my hands. "You're making it hard for me to leave you!"

"That's the point." I mumbled in his shirt. It smelt of deodorant and that freshly ironed smell. I rubbed my nose in it.

"How about a deal then?"

I didn't understand what he meant so I looked up and saw those emerald eyes reflecting mine.

"You let me go now and I'll give you a surprise?"

At the sound of 'surprise' Logical Alice shot up out of bed. She loves surprises. "What kind of surprise?"

He put a finger to his lips. "Now it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you."

I grinned. I really loved it when he says unexpected things… and is generally unexpected. I let him go. "I love surprises."

He kissed my forehead as he got out of bed. "I'll be gone for a few hours. I'll pick you up here, okay?"

I nodded.

"See you, baby." And he left.


End file.
